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HARROW RECOLLECTIONS, 


BY 


t J 


'i 


AN OLD HARROVIAN. 




f) 


r 

^ oNiv 

\ 

Oh mihi prceteritos referat si Jupiter annos.” 


1 



t LONDON: Cy 

GEORGE ROUTLEDGE AND SONS, 

THE BROADWAY, LUDGATE j 
NEW YORK: 416, BROOME STREET. 


WYMAN AND SONS, PRINTERS, 

GREAT QUEEN STREET, LINCOLN’S INN FIELDS, 
LONDON, W.C. 


CONTENTS. 


► 

i 

V 


CHAP. PAGE 

I. —Leaving Home. 1 

II. —First Impressions . 9 

III. —Fagging. 25 

IV. —Cricket Fagging. 38 

V. —Football Quarter . 48 

VI. —Cricket Quarter . 69 

VII. —Miscellaneous Amusements. 83 

VIII.— Speech Day . 103 

IX. —Last Words . 117 













PREFACE. 


J-N" vain have I searched the pages of the 
“ Complete Letter Writer 33 in the hope of 
gaining inspiration and information therefrom 
to assist me in the selection of a few appro¬ 
priate phrases wherewith to appeal to my readers 
for consideration and indulgence. A stereo¬ 
typed form, however, would scarcely be suited 
to the occasion, and the suppliant thinks it best 
to make his petition in the simplest of language 
and with the most profound humility; for though 
naturally of a sanguine temperament, he is fully 
alive to the very many imperfections and draw¬ 
backs that may be found in the following pages, 
more particularly of a literary character. He 
has, however, sought as much as possible to 


vi Preface. 

confine himself to authentic facts, and hopes 
on that score to be pardoned other short¬ 
comings. Possessing neither the pen nor the 
imagination of a Tom Brown, he is prepared 

with resignation to be termed as of that class of 
* • 

authors “ qui linum denario scribunt and so 
long as his veracity is not impugned, he cares 
little or nothing. But to return to the first 
person—the third, though epigrammatic, being 
somewhat inconvenient — my object in these 
Recollections has been to recall, as far as that 
treacherous rascal memory enables me, various 
matters connected with the routine of life at 
Harrow, which I hope may not prove un¬ 
interesting. 

Of course I cannot vouch for things being 
now in precisely the same condition as they were 
in my time. Since then the school republic has 
seen a change : Dr. Vaughan has surrendered 
the dictatorship; and the Rev. Montagu Butler, 
an old Harrovian and pupil of his, reigns in his 
stead. 


Preface. vii 

New brooms always sweep clean — so 'tis 
said; but with the exception of a manifesto for 
the confiscation of trouser pockets, the present 
Head Master has adhered in principle to the 
policy of his predecessor : “ Lc Roi est mort , 
vive te Roi! ” and though he whose name will 
ever remain inseparably connected with Har¬ 
row has ceased to direct its destinies, his suc¬ 
cessor has essayed well and successfully to gain 
the good opinion and regard of his youthful and 
therefore naturally troublesome subjects. 

As I before observed, there may be certain 
matters mentioned in the following pages that 
no longer exist: racquet-fagging, for instance, 
has I believe been abolished; but I do not think 
that to have excised or altered them would have 
improved the character of my little book. I 
am content to stand or fall by it as it now goes 
forth, believing that faultiness in a literary point 
of view will be forgotten in the worth and in¬ 
terest of the subject. Whatever its defects— 
though I have not asked his permission—I dedi- 


Preface. 


viii 

cate it to my old tutor and friend Henry Edward 
Hutton, in remembrance of those happy days 
spent as his pupil at the Old Vicarage, and as 
a small but sincere tribute to one who, while 
never forgetting that he was the Master, always 
remembered to show himself a Friend. 

SIDNEY DAEYL. 


April mil , 1867. 



A Monthly Magazine. 
























HARROW RECOLLECTIONS. 


CHAPTER I. 

LEAVING HOME. 

How well do I recollect the sensation I ex¬ 
perienced, when at the age of thirteen and a 
half, my guardian—I had no father or mother— 
announced to me that my name was down for 
Harrow, and that at the commencement of the 
ensuing year I was to embark on my public 
school career. I must confess that at first the com¬ 
munication made me feel a little serious. Stories 
without end had been told me of bullying and 
thrashing; of great hulking fellows torturing 
inoffensive little boys for mere cruelty's sake; in 
fact, at Doctor Tickleback's academy, where I had 
hitherto pursued my educational course, the most 
horrible anticipations and prophecies as to my 
future fate were ventured. But I had learned to 
look upon theTickleback w r orld as one to falsehood 
framed, and though its gloomy presentiments 
for a time disturbed me, they gradually died out, 
leaving very little effect behind. I have since by 

B 


2 


Harrow Recollections . 


experience learnt their value, and if I may be 
permitted to express an opinion in a matter of 
comparison, Harrow is to Tickleback’s what 
heaven is said to be to a certain unmentionable 
locality. I spent nearly ten years of my boyhood 
between the two, and I know where the happiest 
days were passed. 

The time arrived. In what month, in what 
year it matters not; suffice it, that at some period 
during the last thirty years I was deposited by a 
mid-day train at the Harrow Station, with a hat- 
box, portmanteau, and two carpet-bags, not for¬ 
getting a crisp £10 Bank of England note in my 
pocket, which my guardian had given me the 
night before, after a delightful dinner at his club. 
It was a bright, sharp January morning, such a 
one as braces up nerve and muscle, and stretches 
the legs into such rapid strides, that miles ap¬ 
pear but so many yards. Some people imagine 
that tears and red eyes are the essential accom¬ 
paniments of “ Black Monday ”—by the way 
this was a Thursday; for my part all I can say 
is, that on this eventful occasion I gave way to 
no such weakness; nor among any of the other 
new boys, that came by the same train as myself, 
did I see anything of the kind. It was rather 
with a smiling face that I made my way to my 
“Tutor’s” up the hill, past the chapel—there 
was no Vaughan Library then—over ground 


Leaving Home . 3 

then so new—now every inch familiar—till I 
reached the door of what was to be my school 
home for some time to come. It is the custom 
that new boys should arrive early, in order to get 
them comfortably settled before the rest make 
their appearance, which is generally at the very 
last moment allowed—and in most cases their 
parents accompany them. With me, however, 
that was impossible; and my guardian having 
been detained in London by pressing business, 
I was shown into my tutor's study alone. From 
that day is dated a friendship that years have 
only tended to strengthen. The master and 
pupil it is no longer; but the heart of neither 
one or the other has ever changed, though the 
boy has become a man, and the teacher's hair 
grown grey. 

He welcomed me warmly, pressed my hand 
kindly, gave me many practical, useful hints— 
he had been a Harrow boy himself—and then 
dismissed me to settle myself in my room and 
get my things about me. I found everything 
very comfortable, and soon felt quite at home, 
my only anxiety being to see the other two boys 
who were to be my companions in occupation. 
Here, perhaps, it may not be uninteresting in 
me to digress for a moment, to give a short de¬ 
scription of what may be more particularly called 
the domestic arrangements, as to the boarding 
b 2 


4 


Harrow Recollections. 


and lodging of the school. Each of the masters, 
with but one or two exceptions, receives pupils 
into his own house, either in a smaller or larger 
number: for instance, at the Head Master’s 
there are some sixty or seventy boys under the 
one roof; while, at an under master’s, there per¬ 
haps may not be ttiore than five or six. Hence 
arises the distinction by which the first are known 
as “large,” the second as “small” houses. The 
latter are supposed to afford greater advantages 
in point of comfort and attention from the tutor; 
and in most of them each boy is able to have a 
room to himself, or at most to share it with a 
single companion. Consequently, the charge at a 
small house is very much higher than at a large 
one. I am not at all sure that what is gained in the 
respects above mentioned is not counterbalanced 
by the loss of the “roughing it,” which is a 
necessary part of the living in the large house, 
and which I presume is the best, if not the only 
means, of inducing that manliness and power to 
take care of oneself, of which a public-school 
education is said to be the promoter. Still, there 
may be some boys, who, for physical reasons, 
would be unfit to pass through it, and for them 
the small houses are the proper residence. At- 
ached to each house is a pupil-room, in which 
“ private reading,” and Latin verse, and prose 
composition, to say nothing of surreptitious les- 



Leaving Home. 5 

sons in carving on the desks and walls, is the 
order of the day. Adjoining this there is gene¬ 
rally a yard, where an anomalous description of 
cricket and a still more peculiar version of rac¬ 
quets, with a “ spat 33 and an India-rubber ball, 
are the staple sources of amusement. In those 
which are more extensive a mild kind of football 
is a favourite recreation in the short intervals 
between school in the winter quarter. Then as 
to hours, which by the way are adapted to each 
particular class. The school bell rings first at a 
quarter to seven to get up, at a quarter-past to 
warn the sluggard that he has only fifteen minutes 
to wash and dress in. At half-past seven prayers 
are read in the fourth-form room, for all classes 
below the remove, by the Head Master; those for 
the upper forms by their respective masters, in 
their respective rooms. Breakfast at nine, din¬ 
ner at one, tea at six, supper at nine, bed at ten 
or half-past, and then “ tollies 33 out for the night. 
On half-holidays, Tuesday, Thursday, and Satur¬ 
day in the summer quarter, there is a bill (calling 
the names over) at two, four, and six; in the 
winter at two and four only. Lock-up is regu¬ 
lated according to the time of year. There is 
always one, generally two, whole holidays during 
the quarter; thus an opportunity is afforded to 
those going for their “ exeat 33 to get away on 
Friday night and stay till Monday. Only one 


6 


Harroiv Recollections. 


“exeat” is allowed during the quarter, unless 
under extraordinary circumstances, and the 
strictest precautions are taken to prevent any boy 
going to town without permission. The ticket- 
clerk at the station is forbidden to issue a ticket 
to one of the school, without his presenting a 
printed paper giving him leave, signed by the 
master of his form, and countersigned by his tutor. 

On Sundays there is chapel before breakfast, 
at which the Communion Service is read; at 
eleven, morning prayer. Litany, and sermon; 
and in the evening, prayers and sermon, always 
preached by the Head Master. Those in the 
morning are preached by the masters in turn, 
while the lessons are read by two of the monitors. 
The choir is chosen from the school, and, as 
compensation for their having to lose some of 
their Saturday half-holidays in practising, they 
are allowed an extra “ exeat ” With reference 
to other matters I shall leave them for the 
present, and return to myself, the room, the 
three beds, and my two companions—who by 
this time had arrived—and whom I found to be 
somewhat older than myself, and consequently 
a little inclined to carry matters with a high 
hand. But why should I object to their patting 
me on the back ? So I let them do it to their 
heart s' content, and we soon became the best 
of friends. The next day at ten o'clock all the 


Lea ving Home . 7 

new boys were ordered into “ Speecli-room” 
where an examination in Latin, arithmetic, and 
French was made, in order to find what class 
each one was fitted for, and the following morn¬ 
ing we were “gazetted ” accordingly, preparatory 
to commencing work on the Monday in right 
good earnest. If I recollect aright, there was no 
compulsory football that Saturday afternoon, so 
another new boy, whom I will call Jack, and my¬ 
self strolled through the town to make ourselves 
better acquainted with it. I wonder how many 
times I was asked my name ! “ What’s your 

name, you fellow ? ” is the stereotyped phrase 
used. I got so tired of repeating mine, that at last 
I thought I would vary it, and so rung the changes 
on Brown and Smith, and if I hadn’t attempted 
Robinson, all would have gone well. But I did, 
and the consequence was that my interrogator, 
instead of passing on as the others had without 
taking any further notice, pulled up and cross- 
examined me, quite in Old Bailey fashion; and 
to such good purpose that I admitted.my fault, 
for which praiseworthy candour I received a kick, 
and an “ if you try that on with anybody else 
you’ll get into trouble,” with which moral and 
physical correction he moved away. It is con¬ 
sidered highly necessary that new boys should 
be kept in their proper position, and made fully 
aware of their inferiority, so they in their turn 


8 


Harrow Recollections. 


are not permitted to ask any otlier boy his name 
until their third quarter. This may seem all 
very childish; but however trifling it is, there 
can be no doubt that, being part of an excellent 
system, there is some good in it which at first 
sight we do not perceive, and which ultimately 
influences the boy's career. For it should be 
remembered that a very important (some think 
the most important) element in a public-school 
education is that in its mimic world, a certain 
condition of society, certain rules, certain “ eti¬ 
quette 33 prevails, and each member is bound to 
recognize and give in to these if he wish to lead 
a peaceful life. At a large place like Harrow, 
where there are some five hundred boys of all 
ages, from thirteen to twenty, this must of neces¬ 
sity be the case; indeed were it otherwise, it 
can easily be imagined that such a republic 
would be in a perpetual state of revolution. 
Probably to this cause may be attributed the 
institution of the monitors, the existence of 
fagging, and the investiture of the former with 
large powers, even to the length of using the 
cane, when it is rendered necessary by any out¬ 
rageous breach of decorum, such as gross brutality 
or cowardly bullying, or obstinate disobedience 
to the well-known rules as to cricket, or racquet- 
fagging, or abstinence from compulsory football, on 
all of which subjects I shall have something to say. 


First Impressions . 


9 


CHAPTER II. 

FlftST IMPRESSIONS. 

Accommodating oneself to the habits of a new 
position is a process at all stages and in all 
periods of life peculiarly unpleasant. Its thou¬ 
sand exigencies, and hitherto unknown require¬ 
ments, are in nowise relieved by the troublesome 
feeling of shyness and modesty that a very large 
proportion of persons suffer from, and which 
always attends their introduction into a new 
sphere or fresh scene of action. Few, oddly 
enough, ever in reality understand bashfulness 
in others, however retiring they themselves may 
be, and they invariably attribute the flushed 
cheek, the trembling hand, or the quivering 
voice, to a wrong cause. I take upon myself 
to digress so far, because I know how much 
depends upon a boy taking a determined posi¬ 
tion at the commencement of his life at a public 
school. Probably if he make this resolve and put 
it into force, he will find it bring about many hard 
blows and sneers and sharp words; but all these 
will be overcome in time. Imperceptibly a feel¬ 
ing of respect will be engendered among those 


10 


Harrow Recollections . 


with whom he associates; he will find that his 
plucky, honest-hearted schoolfellows will learn to 
appreciate his motives and his policy, while the 
cowardly sneak and the unprincipled bully will 
not be very long in taking his measure and trans¬ 
ferring their torments and polite attentions to 
some more suitable subject. What such as these 
hate more than anything else is being opposed and 
resisted. Everybody must give in to them, and let 
them have their own way, and a bold front put on 
at the outset is sure to discomfit and beat them. 
I do not for one moment intend to convey the idea 
that I am an advocate for ill-suited bumptious¬ 
ness or self-conceited boasting in a new boy ; but 
what I do say distinctly is this, that when once 
he has set his foot within the precincts of a 
public school, he should learn to be a man in 
every sense of the word—to think for himself, 
to judge for himself, and above all to put up with 
any trials and worries he may get with good 
grace and without grumbling. He should re¬ 
member that it is a compliment and an encourage¬ 
ment to a bully to let him see that he is successful 
in making another unhappy and uncomfortable, 
and he is certain at every available opportunity 
to repeat his annoyances. On the other hand, if 
you treat him with contempt, he will sneak aff 
like a frightened cur with his tail between his 
legs. 


11 


First Impressions. 

Here let me say that very few representatives 
of the old “ genus " bully, of whom we have 
been accustomed to read in school tales and 
stories, now survive; indeed, as far as I myself 
am concerned, I do not recollect coming across 
one. In the literary eccentricities to which I 
have referred, he used to be a great, bull-headed, 
blundering lout, with more muscle than brains, 
and stupidity than courage; his cruelties and 
oppression partook greatly of the extravagant, 
as far as brutality was concerned, and he even 
went the length of risking the life of his wretched 
victim. But now my gentleman is rather of the 
superfine school; he plays a part closely analo¬ 
gous to that of the polished villain of a St. 
James's comedy; he is a perfect Joseph Surface 
in shell jackets and pegtops without pockets, 
I must add, for the present Head Master has 
prohibited such luxuries. One of his favourite 
methods of annoyance is to attract the notice 
of the whole form, in which you both may 
be, to some error of inexperience or apparent 
bashfulness on your part, and then to excite 
ridicule and amusement at your expense. If 
you happen to blush, he whispers in your ear 
“ smoker," which, being literally interpreted in 
the Harrow vernacular, meaneth “ blusher." 
Now, under such circumstances, it is by no means 
agreeable to have a self-evident failing made 


12 


Harrow Recollections. 


more conspicuous than need be; and unless you 
have plenty of self-control, you will wriggle 
about uncomfortably in your seat, or, if you are 
construing, make a sad bungle of :e edo, est,” 
and “ sum, es, est.” “ Extra school,” says the 
master, and you sit down with a gurgling in your 
throat, and a strong sensation of revenge in your 
bosom, in which a desire to strangle your tor¬ 
mentor then and there plays a by no means in¬ 
significant part. But enough of bullies and their 
performances : let us turn to the more serious 
consideration of settling down. 

Monday came, and then I felt myself fully 
launched in my new career. What the exact 
work was I had then to do, at this period of time 
I only vaguely remember, but I am strongly dis¬ 
posed to think that it was “ Mathematics,” a 
branch of education that I never have appre¬ 
ciated and never shall take to, simply for the 
reason that figures are not in my line. Many 
and many wretched hours of disappointment and 
punishment has my ignorance of the science of 
numbers entailed, and even now the sight of a 
decimal fraction brings my heart into my mouth. 
I know I have many fellow-sufferers from the 
same complaint, and all I can say is—“ lor, how 
I pities they ! ” Still they may think themselves 
lucky that it never fell to their lot to spend the 
morning in that class-room at Harrow that over- 


13 


First Impressions. 

looks the vicarage garden. My recollections of 
it are Anything but pleasant, for I never went 
into it without getting into trouble with the 
master who always presided there, and gene¬ 
rally came out with a flea in my ear, and the 
delicious prospect of spending my next half¬ 
holiday cooling my heels outside the aforesaid 
master's door. Oh, Euclid, Colenso, and all you 
other demons, you have much to answer for and 
compensate; so if you have no objection. I'll 
take a cheque on account at once. 

As I shall have to mention my tutor frequently, 
let me call him Mr. Mortimer. As to his per¬ 
sonal appearance, neither you nor I, reader, 
have any business to inquire; as to his goodness 
and kindness, I have spoken before, and shall 
many times do so again before these papers are 
finished. He was a firm and ardent believer in 
that system originated by Dr. Arnold at Rugby, 
and transplanted by Dr. Yaughan to Harrow, 
which has its foundation in all that is just and 
right—which encourages sympathy between boy 
and master, and engenders trust on the one hand 
and confidence on the other. Mr. Mortimer did 
not look upon the boys in his house as so many 
animals that he had to supply with meat and 
drink at so much a head; he treated each and 
every one of us as he would a friend stopping 
with him on a visit, was ever anxious to hear 


14 


Harrow Recollections. 


what we had been doing, joined in our games in 
the yard, and, above all, was always ready to 
hear what we had to say, if we had got into 
trouble in school, and to give us advice as to 
what we should do. Many a time have I gone 
to him, boiling over with indignation at the real 
injustice of some punishment that had been 
imposed upon me, but I have never left him 
without being quieted down, either by a promise 
to speak to the master who had given it me, or 
by having it pointed out that in a large com¬ 
munity it does happen sometimes that people 
suffer for the errors of others. Speaking of this 
recalls to my mind a forcible illustration, that 
shows how myself and the rest of my house got 
into difficulties for something we had never done. 

The master whose residence was opposite 
ours one morning had a stone thrown through 
his study window. Why or wherefore to this 
day I never have been able to discover, but he 
thought fit to charge us at Mr. Mortimer's with 
the offence, and demanded that we should be 
punished, for there had been a great deal of 
stone-throwing going on, and notice had been 
sent round by the Head Master that the next 
culprit that came before him would be severely 
dealt with. Mr. Mortimer sent for us, and 
asked whoever did it to come forward and 
honourably avow his guilt. None moved, and 


15 


why ? Because honestly and sincerely not one 
of us had had a hand in the matter, and now, 
as then, I firmly believe that we were all inno¬ 
cent. The matter was, of course, reported to 
Dr. Yaughan, and the upshot was that we were 
all summoned to a private hearing in “ speech- 
room.” I remember what took place as well as 
if it were yesterday—the Doctor's grave face as 
he impressed upon us the necessity of speaking 
the truth and surrendering the culprit. No one 
moved. He asked us what we had to say; we all 
cried aloud that we had not done it—it was not 
one of us. The master whose window had been 
broken was convinced that the stone came from 
our garden, and then we first heard of a police¬ 
man who declared that he saw it fly across the 
road from that direction. We had no evidence 
to contradict this, no power to cross-examine this 
constable, who, as after-experience would have 
taught us, is always sure to turn up at the last 
minute to put in the bit of testimony that is 
wanted. The result may be easily conceived. 
“ Yery well,” said the Doctor, “ if the boy who 
did throw the stone doesn't give himself up at 
once, all must be punished. I know that in that 
case the innocent will have t© suffer, but as I 
have told you often in chapel, in communities 
large or small, such does sometimes unfortu¬ 
nately happen.” I do not mean that those were 


16 


Harrow Recollections, 


his exact words, but what he did say was to that 
effect. We were all punished by having to 
bring fifty lines every half-holiday at three and 
five to the Doctor's house to the end of the 
quarter. I never can and never shall feel that 
we merited so severe a sentence, but I would not 
complain of Di\“ Vaughan, who was always as 
just as he was indulgent. 

Once in the swing of work, time passed quickly 
enough. Jack and I, who were in the same 
form, got on very well together, and at the end 
of the second week, found ourselves first and 
second in marks. Mr.Mortimer was very pleased, 
and praised us both a great deal more than we 
deserved. But our lofty position of course had 
its drawbacks. We had to bear no end of chaff 
and hard words, and even kicks. One amiable 
youth, who rejoiced in the dignity of u cock " of 
the form, sent me flying down the old school 
steps. one morning; but as luck would have it, 
the biter was bit, for I was driven like a thunder¬ 
bolt into the arms of one of the monitors, and 
brought him down with me. My persecutor 
tried to make off; but it was useless, he had 
been spotted, and I had the pleasure of standing 
by and seeing him get one of the jolliest thrash¬ 
ings that ever fell to a bully's share. I will do 
him the credit to say he didn't howl much, but, 
to judge from the movement of his features, he 


17 


First Impressions, 

was nob enjoying himself particularly. I need 
scarcely say that he did not trouble me with his 
attentions again. But, as I was observing, our 
progress at first got us into trouble. “ Oh, you 
Swat ! " met us at every turn, and if we hap¬ 
pened to make a mistake, there was great rejoicing. 
And yet the real truth was, that neither Jack 
nor myself did “ Sivat " ; we prepared ourselves 
for what had been set, but not a line more; 
and if we had worked three times as hard, it 
wouldn't have done either of us any harm. It 
was in “ repetition that we generally made a 
hit, and for this reason, because the first book 
of Horace's Odes, which our form was then going 
through, was known to both of us by heart, and 
all we had to do was to read it over, and then 
we were ready. Each boy had to go up to the 
master's desk when called upon, and pretty 
pranks some of the idle ones used to play, 
taking their book up with them, and “ cribbing" 
as best they could. I have seen terrible dis¬ 
coveries ; one fellow especially was always being 
found out; but then he made it a regular prac¬ 
tice, and would no more have thought of 
learning a dozen lines of Latin, than putting 
cold water in his mouth, and sitting on the hob 
till it boiled. 

Poor old Slipshod! I always pitied him from 
my heart, for all the time we were at Harrow 
c 



18 Harrow Recollections. 

together I never recollect his having a clear 
half-holiday. 

u Come down to footer. Skipper ? " “ Can't, 

old man ! got twenty-five at three and five," was 
the nsnal invitation and answer; and so he used 
to spend the better part of his afternoon at 
Fuller's. 

“ Who's Fuller ? " I hear some one ask. A 
very rational inquiry, my dear young gentleman, 
and I'll tell you with the greatest possible plea¬ 
sure. Fuller's is to Harrow what Gunter's is to 
the fashionables of Belgravia; without Fuller's, 
Harrow would have been a wilderness, a desola¬ 
tion ; life there would have been worthless, and 
strawberry-cream and lemon-water unknown. 
Do not let any ignorant person make a mistake; 
this great establishment is none of your twopenny- 
halfpenny gingerbread concerns, none of your 
penny ice and sawdusty sponge-cake delusions ; 
a stupendous business is that of Fuller, a com¬ 
mercial enterprise as mighty as any other in the 
United Kingdom. Here the pocket-money, that 
somehow or other always wants to find its way 
out of the hand at the beginning of a quarter, 
may be invested in every delicacy that the school¬ 
boy appetite can appreciate, from “ Trifle " to 
bull's-eyes. Fuller's is the Harrow “tuck" shop, 
one of those repositories of good things eatable 
where you can get anything you ask for, except 


19 


First Impressions. 

Bath buns.* In the morning, steak-pie, chicken, 
tongue, in fact almost everything one could 
name, is to be found waiting for those who like 
to buy and take it into their house, to add to 
what is provided them for breakfast; for you aro 
allowed to do this. 

Such a rush and scramble. “ Brawn, Miss 
Fuller ! 33 “ Potted ham, Miss Fuller ! 33 “ Six 

of steak-pie. Miss Fuller ! 33 such are some of 
the cries that you may hoar above the tumult of 
their voices. How the good-natured person in¬ 
voked ever managed to supply her customers 
with the articles they asked for has always been 
a mystery to me; but, sure enough, she always 
did, and, whaFs more extraordinary, managed 
to get down in her book correctly the names 
of all those who didn^t pay. She certainly 
was a marvellous woman, and I hope she will 
let me here pay my tribute of admiration and 
respect. How many ices, how many plates of 
gooseberry, apple, cranberry, or any other pie— 
in fact, how much I have spent within the walls 
of Fuller, history can only hereafter tell; at the 
same time no one can ever say that I wasted my 
opportunities, or allowed a moment to be unoccu- 
“ pied. 33 But we must not linger over the sweets 

* I should also mention that penny buns are not to be 
got. These two exceptions are made, because the aristo¬ 
cratic appetites of the customers have no taste for such 
vulgar indigestibles. 

c 2 


20 


Harrow Recollections. 


any longer, or we shall run up our account to an 
unconscionable length, and be unable, to meet 
all our creditors. 

I found that the two boys who shared my 
room with me improved very much on acquaint¬ 
ance, and soon began to take to me, and I 
naturally reciprocated their advances, and we 
soon became the best of friends. As to the other 
boys in the house, there was only one of whom I 
need make mention, as, except to speak generally, 
I shall not have to mention any of the others. 

George Warner I will call him—and the first 
thing that made us friends was a quarrel which 
ended in blows, and terminated in a fight, in 
which I gave him a sound thrashing. I hope this 
will not be thought egotistical, my saying that I 
was the victor, but I believe the hard knocks we 
gave one another made us better friends ever 
after. If you want to have a fight at Harrow, 
you are allowed to, but only in the presence of 
the school on the piece of waste ground between 
the racquet-courts and the school-yard. How 
Warner and I did not care about this publicity, 
so we adjourned to the bottom, of the garden 
attached to Mr. Mortimer's house, and one fine 
morning, just after breakfast, settled our little 
differences. Poor George, a pretty figure I made 
you look, and I didn't get off without some un¬ 
pleasant marks ; but I never regretted either the 


21 


First Impression S. 

one or the other. Of course our tutor knew per¬ 
fectly well what we had been up to when we 
came in to dinner, trying to look very innocent, 
but George's puffed face, and an ominous swell¬ 
ing over my left eye, could not fail to reveal 
everything. Mr. Mortimer called us into his 
study, and there and then addressing us told us 
that we could only secure his pardon by shaking 
hands and being good friends. This we were 
both only too delighted to do. Poor George ! I 
little thought then that, ere another two years 
were over, you would be quietly sleeping in your 
grave out on the Lincolnshire moorlands. When 
1 went home with you one summer vacation, and 
was introduced to your father and mother at the 
old rectory, and met with such a warm and 
hearty welcome, all was so bright and happy in 
the present, that I did not see the black cloud 
that was hanging over and darkening your fu¬ 
ture. But it gathered in and in, and there was 
none that could avert the storm. How well I 
remember that night, when with aching heart 
and streaming eyes I lay on my bed in the room 
that we had lately shared together, and heard 
the slow, mournfull tolling of the bell that was 
wont to summon us to school, whose muffled 
notes told me you were gone. Long time has 
passed since then: I have been buffeted and 
knocked about in the battle of life, sorrows have 


22 


Harrow Recollections. 


scathed me, bitter griefs have wounded me to tlio 
soul, but the memory of those hours, and the so¬ 
lemn warning they brought with them, will never 
be forgotten. How his father and mother grieved 
and mourned for him, few know. A few weeks 
since I went down to see them, and though years 
are gone since George Warner died at Harrow, 
their grief for their lost darling is as fresh and 
poignant as ever. His mother—bless her soft 
kind face and voice—took me by the hand and 
led me out through a side-gate from the rectory 
garden, in among the graves in the churchyard, 
and we stood together looking at the jessamine 
and flowers climbing up the tombstone, whereon 
was written — “ To the Memory of George 
Warner, who died at Harrow, aged 16.” Hot 
another syllable : no biblical quotation, no pane¬ 
gyric on the dead boy, but only what I have 
said. I am not ashamed to own that my eyes 
filled with tears, and I heard a soft voice say— 
“ You were his friend, he loved you as a brother; 
come to us when you will, you will ever be as a 
son.” Those words will not be forgotten in the 
heart of him to whom they were addressed— 
they are stored away in a secret corner, but they 
carry with them a tender influence, that in all 
the fights and trials of the future will never be 
forgotten. 

Shall I tell you how George Warner died? 




23 


First Impressions. 

On a bright summer’s half-holiday, when his 
schoolmates were watching a closely-contested 
match between the Zingari and the Eleven, down 
on the cricket-ground—through the open win¬ 
dow the shouts and applause were ever and anon 
borne upon the soft breeze, and, as he heard 
them, George, poor lad ! turned his big grey eye3 
on me so sadly, but they spoke worlds. He was 
a good cricketer; in due time, had he lived, ho 
must have been in the Eleven; but the hand that 
was then in mine was blue and transparent, and 
the poor frame to which it belonged wasted to a 
shadow. George and I were alone. He asked 
me to get him some lemonade from the table, 
but as I rose to do so he held me firmly. I turned 
round, and gazed on him eagerly. There was a 
ghastly pallor on his face; the black rings round 
his eyes grew darker and darker. I was para¬ 
lyzed. Gradually he drew himself up into a 
sitting position, and for a moment his features 
assumed an expression so horrible that, as I think 
of it now, it makes me shudder. Then slowly 
over his whole countenance a soft, gentle look 
stole like daybreak over the morning sea. Then 
he quietly fell back upon his pillow, murmuring, 
“ Father — mother — good bye ! ” and George 
Warner's short account in the world was made 
up in the books of the Eternal. And as his 
spirit went forth, the bell began to clang loudly 


24 


Harrow Uecoltedions. 


for bill, and one of our house looked in through 
the door, and asked how Warner was; then, as he 
guessed all, his young face became gloomy, and 
as he went off to tell Mr. Mortimer the sad news, 
I heard him whisper to himself, “ Poor Warner 
—poor Warner ! ” 

Life and death so close, so inseparably bound 
up in one another ! What a slight division 'twixt 
the shell jacket and the winding-sheet! 


Fagging. 


25 


CHAPTER III. 

FAGGING. 

Of all the fears that present themselves to the 
mind of the boy who is going to a public school, 
none has such unpleasant anticipations as fag¬ 
ging. He has sat at the dinner-table at home, 
and listened in silent horror to the highly-coloured 
stories of mendacious elderly gentlemen, who 
prefer to sacrifice truth rather than that their 
tales should want for piquancy, and has gone to 
bed in a conditiou of nerves more easily imagined 
than described. He will, however, eventually 
find that all his alarms are groundless, and that 
the actual thing, when looked full in the face, is 
not half so bad as all the talk and description of 
it beforehand. Ho doubt cruelties—and very bar¬ 
barous ones, too—have been perpetrated under 
the pretence of fagging; the Winchester affair, 
and a certain unpleasantly notorious case at Har¬ 
row, are examples of this : in fact, there are very 
few of the old-established public schools that 
have not an undesirable recollection of this kind 
in their history. But all such are matters of the 
past; boys, like men, have become more en¬ 
lightened and larger in their ideas ; they are not 
the thoughtless, unthinking set they used to be 


26 Harrow Recollections. 

in years gone by; they have begun to learn the 
value of reflection. The increasing intelligence 
and assumption of manliness in the rising gene¬ 
ration has over and over again provoked the 
good-natured criticism of their seniors. It was 
one of John Leech's favourite subjects, but it has 
always been regarded more in a friendly spirit 
than otherwise, and, except where it has exceeded 
the fair limits of ‘ordinary progress^ been rather 
aided than checked. And why should it not be 
so ? Our boys are the stuff from which our men 
are made, and when once the tree has begun 
growing, surely it is the excess of folly to check 
its heightening and spreading. It is to the earlier 
formation of character that the modification of 
the fagging system is mainly due. By the time 
a boy is able to fag, he has had a fair drilling 
himself: he has learned the full value of kind¬ 
ness, consideration, and courtesy in carrying it 
out, and knows by that means he will get all he 
wants done with cheerfulness and alacrity, instead 
of scowling looks and sulky obedience. In fact, 
fagging exists more in the name than anything 
else; year after year it takes a milder form, and 
in course of time will almost, if not entirely, dis¬ 
appear. 

I will now endeavour as far as possible to 
describe the fagging system, as carried out at 
Harrow, and will commence by saying that the 



27 


Fagging. 

Monitors and the whole of the sixth form, with 
such members of the upper fifth as happen to be 
heads of houses, are entitled by the school code 
to fag all the rest of the boys from the first shell 
downwards; the fifth form and the remove being 
exempted, for the manifest reason that their posi¬ 
tion entitles them to the exception. They occupy 
the intermediate position between fagging and 
being fagged. The uninitiated visitor to Harrow 
will probably, if he pay it a visit when the school 
is there, be astonished if not alarmed in passing 
a master’s house, to hear a loud and prolonged 
cry of “ boy ! ” In some instances he might be 
led to imagine that the owner of the voice was 
preparing himself for a grand vocal effort at a 
concert or something of that kind, by the “forte” 
and “piano " expression with which he varies 
his tones at intervals. But he would be wrong 
in his surmise; it is nothing more nor less than 
the way in which the house fag is summoned. 
The house fag is the boy whose turn it is to stay 
at home and be in readiness for the call of such 
of the sixth form as may remain in. Perhaps he 
may be wanted to run to “ Fuller's " for lemon¬ 
ade, or to “ Crossley and Clarke's " for a book, 
or down to the cricket-ground to find out how the 
match is going on, and to come back and report 
full particulars. No doubt it is rather a bore to 
stay up in the town on a fine summer's half- 


28 


Harrow Recollections. 


holiday; but, after all, it only comes once in a 
way, and has its advantages as well as its draw¬ 
backs. As for each boy’s own particular fag or 
fags, as the case may be, their labours are of the 
simplest kind; to see after their master’s breakfast 
—for the sixth form mostly have theirs in their 
own rooms—and wait at “ Fuller’s” for such deli¬ 
cacies as may have been ordered, of which, by 
the way, they not‘infrequently get a share, to say 
nothing of the crumpets and buttered toast which 
they have had to prepare. Of course, there are 
other small duties they are called upon to per¬ 
form ; to take messages if necessary, and such¬ 
like trifling matters; but as to boot-cleaning and 
dirty work of that kind, as far as my experience 
goes, it is not included in the demands made on 
them. Still, if it were, it really is, after all, no 
very great hardship, and a boy must indeed be a 
soft, spoony fellow to cut up rusty on that score. 
If he will only make up his mind to do what he 
has to do in good part, he need not have the 
slightest fear that it will pass unappreciated, and 
he will be almost sure to find that whoever he 
fags for will stand him a good friend when he 
is in want of one. He cannot too highly esti¬ 
mate the advantage of making himself popular 
with his master : if he wants to get off liouse- 
fagging for a day, or to be excused from going 
down to football, or any such-like indulgences, 


29 


Fagging. 

liis claims for liberty will not be forgotten. And 
then, again, if anybody tries to bully him, he will 
inevitably find in him a protector. And a very 
useful thing indeed that is sometimes, for how¬ 
ever plucky and self-reliant a boy may be, there 
are occasions when he stands in need of assist¬ 
ance, and in the muscular line too. In the large 
houses a good deal of practical joking goes on, 
of course, and sometimes it travels beyond the 
limits of a joke, and degenerates into a per¬ 
sonal attack; for there are sure to be some few 
cowardly spirits who will always unite to torment 
a youngster. For instance, in one house it was 
a very favourite amusement of these gentry to 
take advantage of a new boy being asleep to 
make a sort of cradle of his blankets, and tie 
him into it, and then sling him by the sheet over 
the balustrade, and leave him dangling at an 
unpleasant altitude over the stone hall. And a 
pretty mess they made of it one night, for, some¬ 
how or other, they did not secure the apparatus 
properly, and their unfortunate victim, a poor, 
weakly little fellow, very nearly met his death on 
the hard flags—that is to say, he would havo 
if he had not held on like grim death to the end 
of the sheet, and shouted at the top of his lungs 
for help. Fortunately he was rescued without 
incurring any further damage than a severe 
fright; but his cowardly assailants were treated 


30 


Harroiv Recollections . 


to a most glorious thrashing at the hands of the 
head of the house, who it was thought was tho 
best person to deal with them. 

At this point it is not out of place to consider 
the monitorial system at Harrow, which at one 
time attracted a good deal of unenviable notoriety, 
by a most flagrant abuse of its privileges by a 
certain individual who shall be nameless. A no 
less celebrated j56rson than the lamented Lord 
Palmerston had a somewhat warm and prolonged 
discussion as to its merits with Dr. Vaughan. 
But the latter fully vindicated its use, and 
pointed out to the general satisfaction the bene¬ 
fits it conferred, and to such good purpose that 
the governors of the school unanimously deter¬ 
mined to retain it as part of the Harrow educa¬ 
tional routine. Undoubtedly the monitors are 
invested with very large and extensive powers ; 
while the masters superintend all matters relating 
to the studies and teaching of the boys, they 
attend almost exclusively to what may be termed 
the social and domestic. The regulation of 
fagging is in their hands ; all gross cases of 
bullying or excess of authority in those entitled 
to exercise it come under their consideration; 
in short, they act as a kind of police, to see 
that nothing is done derogatory or lowering to 
the dignity of the school. But as the trust 
placed in them is large, so are they expected to 


31 


Fagging. 

fulfil it with propriety, and are responsible to 
the Head Master for any omission or excess. 
They may be said to go bail with him for the 
rest of the school. It is most satisfactory, on 
looking back, to say that, during a long course 
of time, they have never abused or overstepped 
the confidence reposed in them, and have gone 
on year by year incontestably asserting their 
right to occupy the position they do. A great 
deal originally was urged against the wisdom of 
allowing them to use the cane; but 1 fan'cy few 
of those who once argued in that way would take 
the same line now, and I remember an occurrence 
illustrative of the system, which is not altogether 
uinnteresting. Two boys had been guilty of the 
most unpardonable barbarity to a cat; one of 
them had shot it, and the other cut off its tail 
while it was alive. The matter was duly reported 
to the Head Master, and he at once determined 
to expel both of them. On the earnest entreaty of 
their tutor he, however, consented to forego the 
extreme measure, on the understanding that the 
monitors would take the matter into their hands, 
and punish them severely. No one knew what 
they would do, but one half-holiday, early in the 
day, a notice was posted on the school-gates, 
which required all the school to give their attend¬ 
ance in the fourth-form room directly after “ two 
bill.” Of course this caused a great deal of ex- 


32 


Harrow Recollections . 


citement, and speculation was rife as to wliat 
would happen—some still adhering to the idea 
that a public expulsion would take place. At 
the appointed time all who had been summoned 
were assembled in their places, and when the 
master, who had been calling bill, left the room, 
all the monitors walked slowly in; one placed 
himself at the door, and the others dispersed 
themselves about, the head of the school alone 
remaining in the middle of the room. The cane 
he held in his hand pretty clearly proclaimed 
what was coming. In a few words he announced 
the Head Master's resolve, and the determina¬ 
tion of the monitors to give the two offenders a 
public thrashing, and he then called them out by 
name. They did not delay to stand forth, pro¬ 
bably only too glad to get off so cheaply, but 
stepped down from one of the back benches, 
looking very much ashamed of themselves. I 
shall never forget the scene—to use a hackneyed 
phrase, there was such silence you might have 
heard a pin drop. Every breath seemed held 
for a moment. Fine, strong, manly fellows they 
both were, famous in the cricket and football field, 
and ordinarily good-tempered and kindly in dis¬ 
position. To this day I have never been able to 
understand what induced them to be guilty of 
such a cold-blooded brutality to a dumb creature. 
Still there they stood awaiting their punishment. 


Fagging . 33 

The head of the school looked pale and anxious : 
he fully appreciated his responsibility, and, 
naturally enough, did not like the job. But he 
laid on with the full strength of that muscular 
frame which made him such an awkward oppo¬ 
nent in the cricket and football field, and as 
each blow resounded on the culprits* shoulders, 
those who heard it knew that he was doing his 
duty without flinching. As for the culprits, 
they bore their thrashing with courage, but one 
of them could not resist a few tears of shame 
at his degraded position forcing their way out. 
I am certain that the scene had a great moral 
effect on those present; it was a subject of con¬ 
versation long after, but was always spoken of 
with respect. As for the two who were punished, 
time showed them to be neither cowards nor 
brutes : they have long since regained the posi¬ 
tion which for the while they lost; but perhaps 
it is not too much to say that that thrashing in 
the fourth-form room at Harrow was not lost 
upon either. 

It can easily be understood that, in a large 
house, where there are some sixty or seventy boys, 
there should be some one perpetually amongst 
them having full authority to keep order. Con¬ 
sequently, the senior monitor at the Head Mas¬ 
ter’s, for instance, occupies a position involving 
great responsibility and anxiety, for on his head 
D 



84 


Harrow Becollections. 


falls all the blame if there be any uproar or dis¬ 
turbance. It does sometimes happen in a large 
house that the head of it is a sixth-form or even 
an upper fifth-form boy; in that case, ex officio, 
he becomes invested with the same powers as if 
he were a monitor. I remember an instance of 
this. A good-natured, easy-going fellow, fond 
of letting things have pretty much their own 
way, owing to the sudden departure of the then 
head of the house, found himself elevated, quite 
unexpectedly, into that position. To tell the 
honest truth, he was quite unfitted for it, and 
told his tutor so; but he would not hear of his 
shirking it, thought it would be a good opportu¬ 
nity for making him bestir himself, and dismissed 
him with the comforting assurance that he 
should hold him responsible in future, and would 
be much displeased if things did not go on as 
quietly as heretofore. There was no help for it; 
dignity, unsought and undesired, had come of its 
own accord, as is very often the case, and there 
was nothing to be done but to make the best of 
it. As ill-fate would have it, the whole of the house 
fully understood their man, and they made up 
their minds to lead him a pretty dance, and at 
any rate to try to see if they could not get the 
upper hand for once. They were not long in 
commencing the struggle. The first evening 
they locked him in his room, and took advantage 


85 


Fagging. 

of his incarceration to celebrate a wild and riot¬ 
ous festival in the dining-hall and passage, of 
course setting some one on the watch, and when 
they got the word “ cave ," bundled off to their 
bedrooms, and were fast asleep when their tutor 
came round to find out what was the matter. 
They had taken the precaution to unlock the 
door of the head of the house's room before this, 
and on his head fell all the blame. “ But they 
locked my door, sir," urged he. “Then you 
shouldn't have let them," was the answer; 
“ and mind, if this occurs again, I shall be very 
seriously displeased." 

This was pleasant; but our friend soon con¬ 
soled himself, and was resolved to take strict 
measures in future. At length came the last 
Saturday of the quarter, and preparation had 
been made for a more than usually boisterous 
evening. The head of the house, however, had 
heard of this, indirectly, in the morning. Quietly 
he resolved in his own mind what to do, and 
when all were in the hall at tea, he locked his 
room door, put the key into his pocket, and 
quietly made his way up to the dormitory in 
which the feast was to take place. He listened 
with a grim smile on his face to the noise that 
was going on down below, and the assaults made 
on his door, and waited patiently and attentively 
till he heard the inmates of the room he was 
D 2 





36 


Harrow Recollections. 


in coming up, when he quietly shut himself into a 
large cupboard in the corner of the room. In 
they came, making a tremendous noise, five in 
all, shouting and laughing, and exclaiming what 
capital fun it was. And then they began recalling 
previous attacks, and who had figured in them, 
and, after chattering away, made a pretence of 
going to bed, and put out the candle. Slowly 
the head of the‘house came unheard out of the 
cupboard, and walked quietly up to the door, 
which he locked noiselessly, and then, passing 
to the chimney-piece, struck a match, and lighted 
the candle. The amazement and consternation 
of all was ludicrous in the extreme—they were 
regularly taken aback. 

“ Now,” said the head of the house, “ I havo 
heard from your own lips that you were the 
worst among those who have been getting me 
into trouble with the tutor about the row« in the 
house. I am locked in here with you, and though 
there are five of you, I mean to give you all a 
sound thrashing ! ” 

And sure enough he did, too, and they did 
not dare to raise a finger against him, for they 
knew that if they did they would bring all the 
monitors down on them in double-quick time, 
and only get twice as roughly dealt with. The 
next quarter, though the same fellow remained 


37 


Fagging. 

head of the house, there was no attempt at a 
disturbance of any kind from beginning to 
end. 

On another occasion I shall have something 
further to say on the subject of fnggingas applied 
to football and cricket. 


38 


Harrow Recollections. 


CHAPTER IV. 


CRICKET-FAGGING, ETC. 


Cricket-fagging is tlie next branch of the sys¬ 
tem, and a very useful one too. I believe to 
that is mainly owing the excellence the Harrow 
boys attain to in'the noble game, for there is no 
humbug about it—you do not stand by and do 
nothing; you have to look after yourself and 
four or five balls at one and the same time, and 
unless you keep your eyes pretty wide open, the 
chances are you will have your teeth sent down 
your throat, or some other reminder of an equally 
pleasant description. 

A lovely bang between the eyes, which sent 
me to grass quite senseless, and very nearly did 
for me altogether, was my first experience nf 
cricket-fagging, but it gave me a lesson that I 
never forgot afterwards. The way in which the 
cricket-fagging is organized is in this wise : at 
the beginning of cricket quarter, a certain num¬ 
ber of fellows from the Lower School—say, four 
—are selected, and dubbed “ slave-drivers,” 
which means that it is their duty every evening 
to send down a sufficient number of fags to field 
out for such members of the Eleven or the sixth 
form as may be practising. They enter your 


39 


Cricket- Fag ging . 

name in a small book they keep for the purpose, 
to which they refer on the ground to see if all 
they have ordered have put in an appearance. 
If any one cuts, they report him to the Captain 
of the Eleven, who may or may not give him a 
thrashing, as the offence may require. If the 
same thing has been done before by the same 
fellow, he probably does; otherwise, he dismisses 
him with a lecture, and begs that it may not 
occur again, as it will then be his painful duty, 
&c., &c. 

I myself was always partial to cricket-fagging, 
being passionately devoted from infancy to the 
sight of a bat and ball; and, being able to bowl 
round-arm a little, found myself promoted to the 
distinguished office of bowler to a sixth-form 
fellow. And oh ! the ecstasy and delight when 
I did happen to get a wicket, and the intense 
longing to have Spencer Ponsonby or Bob 
Grimston near at hand to see the exploit, in order 
that he might take favourable notice, and sug¬ 
gest giving me a chance. What Harrow owes 
to those two kind nurses of its young cricketers, 
history alone can tell: the hours, the days they 
have spent looking on and studying every fault 
and defect in their play, and teaching them how 
to remedy it. I do not believe there really ever 
was an independent captain of a Harrow Eleven; 
he submitted always without a murmur to Grim- 


40 


Harrow Recollections. 


sfcon and Ponsonby, and I doubt whether one, 
through the successive generations of captains, 
ever regretted having done so. But of them 
more at another time, and also of cricket, not 
forgetting to mention here that two boys are told 
off every half-holiday to score for the sixth-form 
game, which is a species of fagging I do not 
think any one could object to. 

Racquet-fagging next comes under considera¬ 
tion, and that is the slowest of all—wretched, 
dreary, miserable work, without a redeeming fea¬ 
ture of any kind or description. There you have 
to go and stand with your back against a wall, 
very often getting your toes trodden on, and 
being pitched into for blundering in the way. 
All the business you have to perform is to go 
round and pick up the balls that have been 
knocked out of court. Sometimes, though, you 
come in for a game. For example, one day I 
went down to the court after bill to fag, and 
found a sixth-form fellow “ knocking up,” with 
no one to play with. “ Come on, young J un, and 
have a game,” he said, good-naturedly, an offer 
I hastened to accept. He thought he was going 
to beat me easily, but he had reckoned on his 
chickens a little too soon, and to his intense 
astonishment I finished off the victor game ball 
to nine. We went on playing, but I was equally 
successful each time, and at last, with a laugh, 


41 


Racquet-Fagging, 

lie said, n It’s no use, you're too good for me, 
young 'un," a compliment which I, of course, 
would not accept. To that game I was indebted 
for the privilege of playing in the double ties, 
through which I was fortunate enough to remain 
up to the last, when myself and partner were 
over matched altogether and beaten in a canter. 
But as to racquet-fagging, it really is a thing to 
escape if possible—not from its hardship, but 
its excessive dulness and stupidity. 

And besides all that, as a general rule, the 
play you have to look on at is not of the highest 
order, for really good players would rather have 
fags out of the way altogether; somehow or 
other they are sure to spoil a good stroke if it is 
to be done. Occasionally, however, there are 
very interesting matches, especially those for the 
champion racquet, which contest has brought out 
such fine players as V. E. and R. D. Walker, 
Ainslie, Plowden, and Maitland. Then a large 
crowd of spectators assemble, and there is no 
lack of applause, and some rare close fights have 
taken place. Old boys come down and look on, 
and make more noise than the young ones, as 
somehow or other they always do whenever they 
have the opportunity, and not infrequently chair 
the victor up the school steps into the yard to 
Sam's room. Who's Sam ? some one asks. One 
of the most important items of the Harrow sys- 



42 


Harrow Recollections. 


tem. Sam Hoare rejoices in tlie title of “ custos . 33 
He keeps all the keys of every imaginable room 
and place belonging to the school, and, extraor¬ 
dinary to relate, never mislays them. A right, 
jovial, cheery chap is Sam, full of life and vigour, 
always ready and willing to lend a hand in pro¬ 
moting every sport and game. And a by no 
means bad cricketer is he. I have seen him, 
when playing for* the town against the school, 
make some ugly scores, and, stout though he is 
getting, run like a lamplighter. When the boys 
come back, or go away, Sam. superintends the 
boxes and luggage with an amount of accuracy 
calculated to excite astonishment in the minds of 
ordinary mortals. As to his punctuality, it is 
truly marvellous; he has the regulation of the 
ringing the school-bell, which is performed by 
his understrapper, who rejoices in the name of 
Hoggs. Probably in due course, when Sam 
retires, Hoggs will be promoted to the place of 
“ custos.” It is only to be hoped that he will 
emulate the virtues and high character of his 
predecessor. A queer place is Sands room, full 
of bats and stumps and racquets, jackets thrown 
in this corner, tail-coats lying in that; in fact, 
everything in a state of glorious confusion de¬ 
lightful to behold. In the midst of all this Sam 
rules with a rod of iron; occasionally, if the 
preservation of the public peace requires it, re- 


Sam Hoare and his Man. 


43 


sorting to an old stump, with which he lays 
about him with hearty goodwill, and unpleasantly 
raps fingers that are poking into corners where 
they have no business. A very favourite rendez¬ 
vous is this same room, especially in the winter 
afternoons, and very long and important debates 
take place there on such weighty matters as the 
choice of the Eleven, or the drawing of the 
racquet ties, and such-like matters. Sam is a 
model of punctuality; but then he is bound to 
be so, for he has to regulate the ringing of the 
bell for school, for the various bills, and for lock¬ 
up, and he has to comer ound and announce to 
the different forms when any alteration has been 
made in the time for all to be in-doors. As I 
said before, Sam is assisted in his laborious 
duties by the aforesaid Hoggs, who always looks 
very dirty except on Sunday, when he comes 
out as spick and span as a new pin. He it is 
who pulls the bell, the rope of which is regulated 
by Sam. I have introduced these two, be¬ 
cause they really are part and parcel of the 
school, and any one who pays Harrow a visit 
cannot do better than enlist them to show him 
what there is to be seen. Sam has special 
charge of the chapel, to which I cordially recom¬ 
mend any one who has the opportunity to pay a 
visit. The painted windows with which it is 
adorned have either been presented by old boys, 


44 Harrow Recollections. 

or subscribed for by the different houses. One 
side is devoted as a special memorial in honour 
of old Harrovians who fell in the Crimean war, 
and their names are engraved on brass plates, 
which are fastened on the wall, underneath the 
painted windows. A very solemn sight it is on 
a Sunday evening to sit on the seats allotted to 
visitors, and to look down the chapel on that 
assemblage of young, hopeful beings, so full of 
life, and health, and happiness. I have never 
heard such honest, plain-spoken sermons as 
those Dr. Vaughan used to preach; every word 
went home to each listener, and when he had to 
point out some special fault or prevailing error 
that was rife, not a single word from his lips 
ever passed disregarded. “We shall never see 
his like again,” was the utterance of many a lip 
on the last day of that quarter which terminated 
his head-mastership at Harrow. Few will ever 
forget the morning when he read prayers in 
speech-room for the last time. There was an 
unusual quiver in his voice, and his eyes looked 
dim and sad. And then, as he addressed the 
school in a few kindly words of farewell, and 
bade all keep up the high character it had 
hitherto maintained, he fairly broke down, and 
hurried in almost inaudible tones to a conclusion. 
Then, as we passed out, he held out his hand to 
bid each of us individually adieu. There was a 


Dr. Vaughan 3 s Farewell. 45 

kind, earnest feeling in the grasp he gave each 
of us; it seemed to speak the genuine interest of 
the heart, and to tell us that there was at least 
one warm friend, who looked with deep regard 
to the future of us all. Dear, kind Doctor, ever 
patient and forgiving, merciful to those who 
least deserved it, confident in the honour and 
truth of his boys as a body, and yet stern and 
unbending when necessity required it, your days 
at Harrow will always occupy the proudest position 
in the history of John Lyon's school. How you 
raised the members from under a hundred even 
up to five, how you made it famous far and wide, 
and how generously you spent your income, aye, 
even to prodigality, in enriching and enhancing its 
attractions : are these things not well known to 
all your old pupils, though you sought to conceal 
them ? Among all those on the list of past 
Head Masters, none can ever occupy so distin¬ 
guished and isolated a position of honour as that 
of Charles John Vaughan, D.D. 

And now, my boys, and dear anxious mammas, 
if any of the latter take the trouble to read these 
papers, just a few words before I conclude the pre¬ 
sent one. From what I have said in the course of 
it, are you any longer under the impression that 
fagging is such a dreadful thing? Don't you 
think that some mischievous person or other has 
laid on the paint of falsehood a great deal too 


46 Harrow Recollections . 

thick, and that a little of the gilding of truth is 
an advantage ? Those who have had plenty of 
experience of the roughs and the smooths of 
public school life will appreciate my motive in 
writing thus. As a general rule, the stories 
that some people attempt to write, in which they 
endeavour to give a faithful portrait of school 
life, are so strained and unnatural, and flavoured 
with such gross* exaggerations, that any one at 
all versed in such matters will throw them down 
in disgust. Let any number of boys who have 
been at any of the great schools be asked what 
they think of fagging, and whether it is so harsh 
and brutal, and, to be sporting for once, I would 
lay long odds that they would give a universal 
opinion in favour of it. We never hear now of 
any case of cruelty or bullying arising out of the 
fagging system. As it has grown in years, so 
has it learned to correct its abuses, and prevent 
the possibility of fault or complaint being made 
against it. The real secret is, that boys now go 
prepared to put up with such trifling incon¬ 
veniences and unpleasantness as it may cause; 
they know perfectly well that it is part and 
parcel of the course they have to go through, 
and make up their minds to grin and bear it like 
“ bricks.” That's the right spirit to look at it 
in: if you show at the commencement of your 
first quarter that you are discontented and cross- 


47 


Fagging. 

grained; that you don't like toasting another 
fellow's muffins or making his tea; or that you 
object to being sent upon errands, and to carry¬ 
ing hot rump-steak in a dish full of gravy from 
“ Fuller's " to the room of the fellow you fag for, 
wherever that may be; I say, if you show that you 
object to all these things, the chances are that 
you will create a dislike against you, and find 
that confounded dignity of yours rubbed up in 
anything but a gratifying manner. Slip that 
aforesaid dignity of yours into your pocket, my 
boy; remember that better men than you have 
put up with all these things before you. Byron, 
as likely as not, carried a dish of eggs and 
bacon for his master's breakfast; dear old Pam 
possibly burned his fingers making coffee for his, 
and I dare swear blacked his boots too; Sir 
Eobert Peel, Sidney Herbert, scores on scores 
of great names might be mentioned, who have 
passed through the same course of “ fagging " as 
you will have to do. Aye there is much wisdom in 
the system; it levels all for a while; the marquis 
in his own right may carry letters for the 
merchant's son, and the heir to an earldom 
make buttered toast for a half-pay captain's only 
boy. Keflective minds cannot fail to see a great 
moral principle involved in all this, that vindi¬ 
cates to the full the retention of fagging as an 
institution at our public schools. 


48 


Harrow Recollections. 


CHAPTER Y. 

FOOTBALL QUARTER. 

What a pity it is that the football rules of the 
various public schools are so at variance with one 
another in the most important particulars of the 
game. At present there is little chance of any 
alteration being made, for, with true conserva¬ 
tive pertinacity, each school prefers to stick to its 
own original laws, despite the laudable exertions 
made by some who would like to see this insu¬ 
perable obstacle to matches between the great 
public schools removed. Much talk took place 
at one time, and a meeting was held in London, 
at which, I believe, representatives from all the 
recognised foundation establishments were pre¬ 
sent ; but it brought about nothing except several 
letters to the newspapers, and a host of imprac¬ 
ticable suggestions, with which enthusiasts and 
lunatics are ready to deluge the public on every 
topic at every opportunity. Football as played 
at Harrow is, perhaps, not so fierce as the Rugby 
game, though very much depends upon the 
interest of the combat. In the ordinary school 
game, in which all boys from the second fifth- 
form down to the lowest are obliged to go and 
play, there are so many engaged and so little 


Football Quarter. 49 

actually to fight for, that it occasionally gets 
somewhat tame. There are two games pro¬ 
vided—the big game and the small—between 
which the boys fairly divide themselves, the 
older and stronger ones going to the first, the 
younger and weaker to the second. The former 
is regulated and looked after by the monitors and 
sixth form, the latter by a certain number of boys 
who are appointed by the head of the school at the 
beginning of the quarter, and who, as in cricket- 
fagging, rejoice in the agreeable title of slave- 
drivers. Their duty is to see that all keep well 
up to the ball, and none are allowed to straggle. 
“ Follow up, you fellow, follow up ! ” is their cry; 
andfollowyou must, or youwill be sent to base, a by 
no means agreeable position on a cold November 
afternoon, to say nothing of being looked upon 
as a terrible “ duffer ” to get into such trouble. 
Then, again, if you come down late, you stand 
good chance of being called over the coals, unless 
you manage to escape the usually lynx-eye of the 
slave-driver, who never has any pity for shirkers. 

I wish it to be clearly understood that every 
boy is compelled to go down to “ footer,” as it 
is called, twice^ a week. If he were down on 
Tuesday, on Thursday he can plead “ down last 
time,” but he must put in an appearance on 
Saturday. I can hear some one ask “ But how, 
in a school where there are some five hundred, 


50 


Harrow Recollections. 


can you find out whether each boy has or has 
not been down ? " Well; this is the way in 
which it is managed. After four o'clock bill., 
the head of the school and one of the other 
monitors take up their position outside the 
fourth-form room-door, at the top of the school- 
steps, and as each boy passes between them he 
has to say whether ‘he has or has not been down. 
If he says “ no," or offers an excuse, he has to 
stand by and explain, and if he has cut it alto¬ 
gether, he runs a fair chance of being “ sent 
for" and getting his jacket warmed. In that 
case it is not altogether improbable that he 
resorts to a lie to cover his fault; but even then 
he runs a great risk, and if he happens to be 
found out, so much the worse for him. This, 
however, occurs in very few cases indeed; there 
is a great deal too much honourable spirit per¬ 
vading the school in these matters, and the in¬ 
stances of a falsehood being told for so small a 
reason, in my experience, were very few and far 
between. There was one boy who was always 
doing it; in fact, he made a regular practice of 
it, and was rather proud of his feat than other¬ 
wise. Time after time did he strenuously declare 
he “ had " been down, and time after time was 
it proved beyond all reasonable doubt that he 
had never been near the footer-field. He was 
caned so many times that, at last, the captain of 


Football Quarter . 51 

the school could stand it no longer. One day 
Smith major was sent for, and presented himself 
at the appointed place at the appointed time. 
The following conversation took place :— 

“Well, Smith,” said the head of the school; 
“ always coming here now.” 

"Pm very sorry,” was the answer. “ It 
certainly is a melancholy fact that here I am 
again.” 

" And here you are likely to be again a great 
many times, unless you make up your mind to 
give up cutting footer, and telling the bangs 
you do about it.” 

“ Well, I suppose I shall; but couldn't you do 
me a favour—let two or three thrashings stand 
over, and give me them all at once ? It would 
be ever so much more convenient.” 

The cool cheek of this proposal sent the head 
of the school into a roar of laughter, but Smith 
major's audacity saved him. After a few mo¬ 
ments' consideration, he was addressed as 
follows :— 

“ I see, Smith, it's no use punishing you, it 
hasn't the slightest effect, and so I give up all 
hope of trying to lick you into obedience. But 
mark this, and think of it when you get back 
to your own room. Wouldn't you be a better 
and healthier fellow if you were to take more 
exercise, and make a good many more friends, 
E 2 



52 


Harrow Recollections. 


by joining in the games, than by spending all your 
half-holidays eating ice and trifle at Fuller's ? 
Take my advice; I'm a good bit older than you, 
and I speak from experience. For the future, I 
shall not trouble myself about you, but I should 
be glad to hear that you had made an altera¬ 
tion." 

Smith major did .profit by his schoolfellow's 
advice, and to such good purpose that he came 
ont as a first-rate cricketer, and presently got 
his flannels, and finally wound up by making 
“ Cock-score" at Lord's in the match against 
Eton. 

May I pause here to say one word in favour of 
plenty of hard muscular and physical exercise? 
My dear boys, if you want to become strong, 
healthy, energetic men, learn early to join in 
all sports which can conduce to develop and 
expand the frame. Join in them regularly. 
Don't go and walk twenty miles or run a foot¬ 
race one day, and then do nothing for the rest 
of the week; don't overstrain the powers one 
minute, and leave them utterly unemployed at 
another. I knew a young, broad-shouldered, 
strong-muscled lad of eighteen, who, wFen he 
left school, neglected to take his regular exercise. 
Consequently, his physique became impaired and 
quite unfit for any serious strain to be put on 
it. One day, at a small country-town regatta, 


Football Quarter. 53 

in the course of a conversation among several 
rowing men, one of them was bragging very- 
much of his exploits, and boasting that there 
was no one who could beat him. “ Fll have a 
try,” said the youngster I have mentioned; and 
it was then and there arranged that the match 
should come off at the end of the day's proceed¬ 
ings, as a wind-up. Mr. Braggadocio treated 
his youthful adversary with contempt, and 
reckoned on winning as a certainty. To make 
a long matter short, the youngster won , but he 
strained his back so severely in the last half- 
dozen strokes that, from that day to this, he is 
almost useless, and can undergo no exercise 
whatever. I recollect well when he was lifted 
out of the boat—he was quite senseless—that the 
blue veins in his forehead stood out like great 
black bars, and the muscles in his arms were 
swollen like pieces of rope. Poor lad! I saw 
him the other day, and he is a miserable wreck 
of his former self. I have mentioned this in 
passing as a warning to those who rush into 
strong physical effort without proper preparation. 
On the other hand, you may train too much; and 
I need only quote, in support of this, the fact 
that men who have rowed in the University 
match have, with a few rare exceptions, been 
anything but long-lived. These remarks apply 
exclusively to young men and boys; when 


54 


Harrow Recollections. 


the frame has fully expanded and got “ set” 
greater liberties may be taken with it than 
when it is undergoing the process, and what 
would strain a lad of nineteen would not do him 
the slightest harm in seven or eight years 5 time. 
Discretion is nowhere so much required as in the 
preparation of a racehorse ; any violent dealing 
with him might,, in short would, destroy all 
chance of his winning, and it is owing to this that 
such care and pains are taken. Everything is 
done slowly and gradually; his “ walks ” at first 
are gentle and limited in number; his “ sweat¬ 
ings ” few and regular, and the boy who rides 
him is expressly cautioned against distressing 
him. So is it with the human being. When 
he goes into training, be it for foot-racing or 
rowing, he should be specially careful not to 
hurry or expedite in the least degree the process 
by which he hopes to lose a certain amount of 
weight and gain a certain length of wind. 
Violent impulses of any kind or description are 
at all times bad, and never more so than in 
matters where that very awkward piece of 
mechanism, the human body, has to be dealt 
with and considered. I am afraid boys do not 
half take care of themselves in such matters, and 
I hope they will forgive me offering a word of 
friendly advice. 

Every house at Harrow has its own distinguish- 


Football Quarter . 


55 


ing cap and shirt in the football field, and each 
boy is bound to wear his house colour, unless ho 
be in the school eleven, when he is of course able 
to wear the eleven colours if he chooses. White 
duck trousers and thick boots complete the cos¬ 
tume, and then you are armed at all points and 
ready for the fray. I myself always played in a 
nondescript kind of knickerbockers, and found 
them far more comfortable than the lengthier 
inexpressibles, which, if it be at all muddy, get 
the most filthy sight imaginable, and flap about 
your ankles in a way anything but conducive 
either to a long or a straight kick. Black gaiters 
got rather the^ vogue at one time; but they so 
soon wore out with kicks, that it was thought 
better to go back again to “ shins ” And precious 
nasty marks are left behind in the aforesaid shins 
by the thick boots and the heavy feet—great blue 
and red scrapes, that make you jump if anybody 
touches you, and render putting on your un¬ 
mentionables an anything but pleasing operation. 
After a long experience I have arrived at the 
conclusion that there is nothing like “ Arnica.” 
Heaven bless the worthy homoeopathic individual 
who discovered that speedy restorer of comfort 
in the region of bruises. Rub it in well, never 
mind how much it smarts, and when you get up 
in the morning every disagreeable appearance 
will have vanished, and the game leg will be ready 


56 


Harrow Recollections. 


for another game. I have seen some nasty acci¬ 
dents at football, kicks in other places than the 
shins ; one boy, I remember well, got down 
somehow or other in a scrimmage, and received 
a violent one in his stomach, which laid him up 
for several weeks, and ended in his having to 
undergo a very painful operation. It certainly 
must have been a‘terrific one, for he turned black 
in the face, and it took nearly an hour to restore 
him to sensibility. In the matches between the 
different houses, the fellows are rather inclined to 
play fierce, for there is a great deal of rivalry, 
and each large house thinks itself better than 
another. So they fight as if their very lives de¬ 
pended on the result, and care not whom they hurt, 
or how injured they themselves may be. One year 
there was a tremendous struggle; the Doctor's 
had been Cock house at football for three preced¬ 
ing football seasons, and none had been able to 
deprive them of the distinction. But in the fourth 
year one of the other houses was very strong, and 
the final contest was to take place with them. 
A good deal of excitement was felt throughout 
the whole school as to the result, and conse¬ 
quently a very large audience gathered on the 
day appointed, down in the footer field. The 
betting was strongly in favour of the Doctor's; 
but some of the knowing ones shook their heads 
wisely and said nothing, but took the odds. It 


Football Quarter. 


57 


was a bright fresh December afternoon, inclined 
to be frosty—indeed, so much so that the ground 
was a trifle hard. I should state here that when 
there is a hard frost there is no football at Har¬ 
row. At a quarter-past two the fight began, the 
captain of the Doctor's eleven kicking off. It 
was at once apparent that both meant winning 
if they could ; Merton's—that's what I'll call 
the other house — were particularly strong in 
running, and their game seemed to be to pump 
their opponents out. They fought on and on; 
first the ball was one way, and the next moment 
a fortunate kick sent it bounding away quite in 
the opposite direction. A quarter-past three, 
and yet no base on either side, and both hammer¬ 
ing away as if for life. The captain of the Doctor's 
eleven began to think it high time for a strong 
effort to be made, and, opportunely enough, he 
managed to get away with the ball out of a scrim¬ 
mage, and made off with it as fast as he could. 
He was one of the most celebrated “ dribblers " 
in the school, and having a good start, he got 
along with it as far as Merton's base. Then en¬ 
sued a glorious display of skill between him and 
the base-keeper, during which the opposing hosts 
came up and joined in, and a tremendous fight 
took place three yards in front of the two poles. 
Long was the combat continued, till the excite¬ 
ment of the spectators was at fever heat, as 


58 


Harrow Recollections. 


neither party budged an inch; they only kept 
swinging backwards and forwards, first one way 
and then the other, and their feet and logs could 
be seen hard at it. Presently someone went down, 
but that made no difference ; it only made those 
who remained on their pins go to work more 
vigorously than before. Now I should have said 
before this, that* in Merton's eleven there was a 
very tiny boy, who was popularly known as 
“ Tugs." Though small, he was a most accom¬ 
plished cricketer and football player, and fully 
entitled to the distinction of being one of the 
representatives of the fifty boys who were in his 
house. In the midst of all the confusion and 
struggling, those looking on saw Tugs creep 
slowly out from the melee unobserved by the 
combatants, so fully occupied were they kicking 
one another's shins. He had got the ball in his 
arms, and no sooner was he on his legs than he 
was off with it. “ Three yards ! " shouted he, 
and before his comrades had got over their sur¬ 
prise he was half-way across towards the Doctor's 
base. And gain it he did amidst loud and general 
applause; and Merton's thus won the champion¬ 
ship, and became entitled to have their name 
carved on the board that had been monopolized 
by the Doctor's house for the three preceding 
years. 

The captain of the Doctor's eleven had good 


Football Quarter , 59 

reason to remember that match, for it was he who 
got down in the scrimmage, and, worst of all, 
had his leg broken for him. They carried him 
up on a hurdle, and as he passed Tugs, who was 
being patted on the back by every one, he cried 
out, “Well done, Tugs; you deserved to win, 
young 'un; I only wish the beastly old leg of 
mine hadn't given way, I'd have had a go in at 
you." Whether or not his breaking down had 
anything to do with the Doctor's losing the match 
I do not know; all I can say is, that the next 
year they redeemed their defeat, and resumed the 
proud position which for the nonce they had been 
deprived of. 

Football commences directly after two o^clock 
bill, and continues till a quarter to four, when 
the bell rings for four bill. And a pretty scamper 
it is to get up in time and have your things 
changed, and all in proper time. That Harrow 
hill leading down to footer ground is no easy 
task to mount: when the weather is at all wet, 
you somehow or other seem to slide back as far 
as you have thought to have advanced. And 
then when there is added to this the very 
natural want of wind consequent on pounding 
about for nearly two hours as hard as you 
can go after the ball, it may easily be ima¬ 
gined that the task is by no means a light 
one. Welcome indeed is the glass of beer, and 


00 


Harrow Recollections. 


the hot water in your footpan, if you have 
time to use it; and if not, postpone it till ji 
after bill, and you will enjoy it just as much. 
Does not it soothe those aching shins and tender ' 
feet, and don't you feel as if you would like to 
keep them both in it for the rest of the after¬ 
noon ? But perhaps you also have an inclination 
for some soup;‘so, after duly attiring yourself, 
you perambulate off to Fuller's, and ask for a 
“ plate of Mullagatawney, Miss Fuller," which is 
forthwith handed to you smoking hot, and pro¬ 
bably in the crush, that always goes on in the 
celebrated establishment above-named directly 
after bill, you have the kindness to empty several 
spoonfuls down your shirt front. But what mat¬ 
ters, so long as you manage to convey some of it : 
in the right direction ? and don't you feel ever 
so much better when you have managed to 
accomplish this feat ? 

They begin playing football at Harrow in 
October, and then it goes on till the holidays, 
and after the Christmas vacation it is continued 
for a short time, and then the races begin. A ! 
great many people complain that football is made I 
compulsory; but, far from coinciding in their 
views, I believe it to be one of the very best 
things that could possibly happen. It makes j 
those fellows take exercise who otherwise would- 
not, and prevents them hanging and loitering 




Football Quarter . 61 

about the shops in the town, doing nothing, and 
generally getting into mischief. Further than 
that, it hardens and strengthens the constitu¬ 
tion, and promotes health and good appetite. 
Of course there are some boys, from constitu¬ 
tional reasons, for whom the exertion and knock¬ 
ing about is ill-suited. All they have to do is 
to go and see the school doctor, and get a certifi¬ 
cate from him that they are excused. This is 
sent in to the head of the school, and he lets 
them off for the quarter. Each of the monitors 
is entitled to let off a certain number of boys 
each “ footer ” day; but you have to be in good 
time with your application, or you will stand no 
chance. Some fellows do shirk going down 
most terribly: why or wherefore I never could 
exactly understand, but if they can sneak out of 
it by hook or by crook they will. One of the 
greatest inducements of belonging to the “ chapel 
choir 33 was that it excused you from almost every 
kind of fagging, except house fagging. For my 
part I was very fond of footer,” and never 
missed going down except when times pre¬ 
vented me, and was not I just proud when the 
head of my house came to me one night and 
told me I might order my tc Fez! 33 by which 
token I knew I was to play for the house in the 
match the next day ? I promise you I exerted 
myself, and endeavoured to show myself worthy 


62 


Harrow Recollections . 


the distinction,, and I think I may fairly say I 
was successful, for on the following Saturday I 
found my name up on the school gates set down 
as the best of the eighteen of the school selected, 
to play against an eighteen of Oxford and 
Cambridge. And a glorious match we had, and 
a very fierce one too; for, though our opponents 
were much heavier than we, “don't give an 
inch" was the order of the day; and budge we 
didn't, much to the astonishment of some of our 
adversaries. As for myself, I know I had a 
pretty black eye and a cut over the eyebrow, the 
scar of which remains to this day; but it served 
me quite right—what business had I to go 
grazing when all the rest kept on their legs? 
It's no very pleasant sensation when you feel 
yourself being trampled on by a lot of heavy 
hob-nailed boots, and if you try to protect your 
face with your own hands, you are sure to get 
some glorious rattles over the knuckles. Then 
some one, pitying your plight or wanting your 
assistance, seizes hold of you by the first portion 
of your anatomy that presents itself, or not un- 
frequently lugs you on to your feet by the hair 
of your head. But after all, what are these 
discomforts to the glorious game, which it is 
gratifying to find gradually becoming very 
popular ? 

My dear, anxious, tender-hearted mammas, if 



Football Quarter. 63 

there be any of you who read these pages, do 
not distress yourselves, or think that because 
your dear boy is condemned to compulsory foot¬ 
ball, any harm will happen to him. If you do, you 
make a great mistake. He will come back to 
you at the “ exeat ” time, if he have one, looking 
so fresh and rosy and blooming, that from that 
moment you will become a convert to the 
system that makes him take fresh air and exer¬ 
cise, whether he will or no. Never mind his 
complaints and grumblings ; they will soon die 
out, and by-and-by he will be as sorry that he 
gave utterance to them, as you were to listen to 
them. Judge him by his looks, and if his con¬ 
stitution be all right, I warrant you his com¬ 
plexion will be as clear as his wind is. I dare 
say I shall be thought an egotistical enthusiast, 
preaching and prating in this way; but I have 
passed through it all, and many of my most inti¬ 
mate friends have done the same, and they 
would, every one of them, bear me out in all I 
say. So much for football; and now for a few 
words about one or two matters that it may not 
be out of place to consider while on the question 
of muscular exercise. 

At one time, during my time at Harrow, 
smoking became very common, and, although 
most strictly prohibited, was carried on even in 
the houses themselves. It may easily be ima- 


64 


Harrow Recollections. 


gined that the culprits, in most instances, were 
found to he among the boys in the lower school; 
those in the upper form knew better than to be 
guilty of so serious an offence. For it was 
looked upon as one of the greatest breaches of 
good order and discipline, and was visited with 
the heaviest punishment; and, in order to check 
it going further* *it was announced that the next . 
case that came to the Doctor's ears, the offender 
would be sent* away. And I merely casually 
mention this in order to say a few words about 
smoking at school. No one more than myself 
enjoys a cigar or pipe now, but my hair is getting 
thin about the top, and age privileges me. 
Though I began smoking much earlier than need 
be, I can sincerely say that during the whole 
time I was at Harrow I never indulged in it 
once. It always struck me that it was running 
a great risk to very little purpose, and sitting 
down in a damp ditch, under a dripping hedge, 
to get half-a-dozen pulls at a dirty pipe filled 
with strong tobacco, and then having to swallow 
“ caoutchous 33 by the dozen, and deluge yourself 
in “ eau de Cologne 33 afterwards, are accompani¬ 
ments to the fragrant weed I never could ap¬ 
preciate. And, depend upon it, you are sure to 
be found out; all the scent in the world will 
somehow or other never get rid of that insinuating 
odour, that hangs about the waistcoat-buttons, 



Football Quarter. 


65 


and twists itself up into the roots of the hair. 
When you go in to dinner your tutor comes 
round and asks some question of the boy next 
you, and then you hear him suddenly break 
out with “ Dear me, what a smell of stale 
tobacco !” and before you know where you are, 
the discovery is made. No, boys, take an old 
soldier's advice, have nothing to do with smoking 
at school, eschew it as a dangerous enemy— 
so it is with young brains—and wait till you 
are old enough to stand it. Nothing is so per¬ 
nicious as for young lads to be given to pipes or 
cigars. # It spoils their eye at cricket, makes 
their hands shake at racquets, and destroys all 
their nerve for a good rush in or a scrimmage 
at “ footer." And when, added to all this, 
there is a chance of a good flogging, if not 
something worse, and the unhappiness of father 
and mother at home, when they hear of it; 
surely it is better to refrain. Then, again, in 
the matter of drinking : a great deal of that goes 
on, or used to, sub rosa ; but I am happy to re¬ 
member that it was only among a select few, 
who certainly were pretty specimens. Some¬ 
how or other there was no mistaking them. They 
always seemed to have a muddled, half-sleepy 
look, and in form were never half-awake; and as 
to answering a question, never dreamt of such a 
thing. Their place of resort was a back-room in 

F 


66 


Harrow Recollections. 


a low pot-house sort of place., where alcohol of the 
most fiery and turpentine description was served 
under the name of brandy. My young gentlemen 
didn't care for anything less potent; nothing 
short of this could excite their biases brains into 
feeling. Wine, and beer were drink for men and 
women; but these poor, dissipated babies must 
have spirit, genuine raw spirit. Genuine ! yes 
with a vengeance-—such doctored filth as a 
Seven Dials' publican would have blushed to 
serve; poisonous to a degree that betrayed itself 
in the sunken cheek, pale as death, and the dull, 
glassy eyes ! They would sit through the long 
summer afternoons, when their schoolfellows 
were at full swing in the cricket-field, and spend 
the whole time swallowing the noxious nastiness. 
Fine fellows they thought themselves — fine, 
wise fellows, smacking their thin lips after each 
mouthful, and talking of things and people that 
had better not have been named. So loud and 
swaggering and boasting too, how “ they had 

dined at the-Arms, and got awfully 

screwed," or “ come home from the boat-race 
deuced squiffy." Thus did they spend their 
leisure. But one day one of the masters got 
wind of their doings, and determined to catch 
them “flagrante delicto ." He found the house, 
knocked at the door, and demanded immediate 
admission. No one answered; but there was a 



Football Quarter. 


67 


great scuffling of feet, and all was silent. After 
knocking repeatedly for some time, and receiving 
no answer, lie obtained assistance, and an 
entrance was effected tkrougli the window; but 
the birds had flown. They had made their 
escape by the back-door, and over a wall; but 
one of them, unfortunately for himself and his 
comrades, kept a diary, in which he entered a 
daily record of his proceedings, where he had 
been, and whom he had met. The result was 
the discovery of all the offenders, and the very 
serious punishment of them all. Two—if I re¬ 
collect aright—were sent away, and the remain¬ 
der flogged most severely. For them I am sure 
not one of my readers, old or young, can have 
the slightest sympathy. To the latter I would 
say, with the most earnest sincerity, never be 
induced to join in the society of boys given to 
drinking. Those I have spoken of at Harrow 
were black sheep, in every sense of the term. 
All sports and contests in which the honour of 
the school was concerned, to them was a matter 
of utter indifference, and an “ exeat” to them, 
was only worth looking forward to, as a time at 
which they might gratify their animal passions 
unchecked and openly. I do not want to ser¬ 
monize, but to a boy who thinks of going to a 
public school, let me say this—be prepared for 
temptations to go wrong without end. They 
f 2 



68 


Harrow Recollections. 


will meet you at every step, compass you at every 
turn; but it is then that you can show what sort 
of stuff you are made of, whether your moral 
principle can be relied upon. It is in this respect 
that the system you are under is so admir¬ 
able : it makes you depend on yourself; to 
ask yourself, not any one else, what to do • 
and when you* * have made up your mind to 
one course, to carry it out, despite annoyance 
and opposition. Above all things, be as pure in 
mind as any lad can be in these days, when 
questionable conversation is so very much the 
vogue. Wherever you may be, set your face 
and ears against lewd and obscene jokes and jests, 
and shun, like the touch of a leper, any approach to 
acts of immorality. You will see things going 
on about you that will shame you, but re¬ 
member— 

Who does the best his circumstance allows 

Does well, acts nobly : angels could no more. 




( 69 ) 


CHAPTER YI. 

CRICKET QUARTER. 

Now I come to Cricket Quarter, and the noble 
game in which the Harrow boy usually at¬ 
tains such excellence,—a fact no doubt due 
to the absence of any water or river near at 
hand to act as a counter attraction. During the 
summer months the only recreation for him is 
to be found with the bat and ball, for the use of 
which ample space is afforded him in two large 
fields belonging to the school, where on half¬ 
holidays almost any number of games may be 
seen progressing in their various stages. Like 
as football has been incorporated with the fag¬ 
ging system, so is cricket, and every boy for a 
certain time has to undergo his share of appren¬ 
ticeship, which consists in fielding out for a 
couple of hours in the evening, while the Eleven 
and Sixth Form practice is going on, and taking 
particular care to stop all hits that come in his 
direction. Should he happen to be particularly 
active, and make a good catch or two, it not un- 
frequently happens that he is let off for the rest 
of the evening; on the other hand, should his 


70 


Uarrow Recollections . 


fingers be greasy, or his legs stiff in moving, 
he will probably be requested to make several 
further attendances on future occasions, while 
sometimes more forcible expressions of disap¬ 
proval will greet his clumsiness. In course of 
time it is astonishing how lively he becomes ! 
Of course, however, there are some, whom all 
the cricket-fagging in the world could never 
turn into cricketers in any sense of the term, 
and who look upon a bat and ball as instruments 
of torture sent purposely to make their lives un¬ 
bearable. Such as these can be recognized in a 
moment: they stand, when fagging, with their 
jackets on and their hands-—not in their trousers- 
pockets, as I was going to say, but forgot that the 
present Head Master had abolished these conveni¬ 
ences—well, with their hands anywhere but in the 
position to catch or stop a ball. If one comes to 
them they are almost sure to miss it, and then 
away they go blundering after it, all the while 
grumbling at having to fag at all, and not finding 
fault with their own stupidity. But he who really 
cares about cricket will soon have full oppor¬ 
tunity of showing the stuff of which he is made ; 
he will look sharp about him, and take full 
advantage of the opportunity afforded to improve 
himself in that most essential of all qualities in a 
cricketer, fielding. Nothing is more difficult to 
learn to do properly, that is to say, with dash 


Criclcet Quarter . 71 

and neatness. What can look worse than to see 
a fellow fiddling about with the ball three or four 
seconds, instead of picking it up clean and 
sending it sharp in to the wicket-keeper, almost 
in one.movement of the arm ? Naturally enough, 
this celerity of action can only be gained by dint 
of hard and continued practice, the left arm and 
hand, which are, of course, the most difficult to 
deal with, should receive their due share of atten¬ 
tion, and running in at the ball should not be 
forgotten. It is in such matters as these, that 
the cricket-fagging system at Harrow is so 
advantageous ; a boy may, if he apply himself to 
the task, make himself next to perfect in fielding, 
for proof of which I refer my readers to the per¬ 
formance of Daniel at long leg, K. E. Digby at 
the wicket, Buller at long-stop, and dozens of 
notable instances, which admirers of cricket must 
all remember and value accordingly. Take the 
first-named of these : despite the drawback of a 
leg which, having been once broken, was any¬ 
thing but strong, the amount of ground he would 
cover was something astonishing, and over and 
over again the enthusiasm of the spectators, 
when he has been playing in some great match 
at Lord's or the Oval, would be excited by the 
accuracy with which his long throws would go 
up to the wicket-keeper. And how did he learn 
this ? Why, at Harrow, where he had had to 


72 


Harrow Recollections. 


pass through precisely the same routine as every 
other boy. It would be quite unnecessary for 
me to enlarge further on the advantages to be 
derived so unmistakably from the cricket-fagging 
system. If it were in force at Eton, I .am in¬ 
clined to think that they would be able to bring 
up to Lord's a far stronger team in every de¬ 
partment of the“game than they have of late 
years. In point of hardship, it is infinitely less 
unpleasant than football, where a certain amount 
of rough treatment and ill-usage must be en¬ 
dured. The Etonians, however, scarcely seem 
to value cricket at its proper worth; occasion¬ 
ally a spurt is made, and a better eleven turned 
out in consequence; but then one victory seems 
to satisfy them, and instead of endeavouring to 
repeat it, they relapse into their former indif¬ 
ference, and appear to fancy that a triumph will 
come again as a matter of course, forgetting 
that their opponents are all the while working 
hard to retrieve their defeat. 

But now of cricket quarter itself, which we 
will suppose is fairly advanced, and the time is 
fast approaching for the final choice for the 
Eleven to be made. A very hard position is that 
of the Harrow captain, let me tell you, and to 
occupy which any boy may well aspire. During 
the cricket quarter he possesses the power of an 
autocrat—his word is law, his mandate none dare 


Cricket Quarter. 


73 


impugn. With, him rest the arrangements of all 
the Eleven matches during the term; the selec¬ 
tion of those to play in the Sixth Form game; 
and last, and this the most important duty, the 
choice of those who are to represent and uphold 
the honours of the school against Eton. Further 
than this, he has the unpleasant task of “ whop¬ 
ping 33 those who have been sent up to him for 
shirking cricket-fagging. In fact, he has the 
thorough and entire supervision of everything in 
the cricket department just in the same way as 
the head of the school has in the matter of 
football. There, therefore, rests with him con¬ 
siderable responsibility, and his time is fully 
occupied with the cares and necessities of his 
office. It used to be a curious sight to see some 
eight or nine boys waiting outside his door after 
breakfast, trembling and shaking at the pro¬ 
spect of having their jackets “ warmed.” Some 
captains were particularly severe in this respect, 
and used seldom, if ever, to let the culprit off; 
others were inclined to give one more chance, an 
opportunity of which advantage was eagerty 
taken. For a long cane, wielded by an arm that 
has done good service in bowling, does not lose 
any of its stinging properties, and excites con¬ 
siderable reflection as to whether it would not 
perhaps be as well to obey the slave-driver next 
time. 


74 


Harrow Recollections. 


A great deal has been said about the peculiar 
qualities of the Harrow cricket-ground, and its 
assimilation to Lord^s, and no doubt there is 
much truth in the criticisms that have been passed 
upon it. It is essentially a difficult ground, the 
reason of which is obvious when I explain that 
it is on the side of a hill. Added to this, it 
lies very low as ‘ regards the town, being in fact 
just at the bottom of the ascent on which it is 
situated. Admitting all this, it seems to me a 
ridiculous argument to urge that, because the 
Harrow boys are accustomed, to practise under 
difficulties, they gain by this means an undue 
advantage over their annual opponents. If the 
playing-fields at Eton have everything that can 
be desired in the way of a cricket-ground, so 
much the more reason that those using them 
should be able to become good bats, bowlers, and 
fields, and perfect themselves in the game by 
means of the superior advantages they possess. 
At the same time a good deal of nonsense has 
been written with reference to the Harrow 
ground, making it out to be nothing much 
better than a hayfield, which is simply foolish. 
If the real cause of Harrow success in cricket 
were looked for, it would be found in the energy 
and perseverance in the game by those who have 
represented its interests from time to time, and 
their individual endeavours to make themselves 


Cricket Quarter. 75 

masters of it in every branch. If I remember 

aright, Fitz-, in his most amusing “ Jerks in 

from Short Leg,” says that at Eton the fashion 
is for the hopes of the whole school to be cen¬ 
tered in one hero, who is expected to get all the 
runs, and, I may add, catch and bowl everybody 
out into the bargain; while at Harrow each boy 
in his own behalf is chosen for his own deserts, 
and is looked to to perform his part with the bat 
and in the field. I am not writing on the sub¬ 
ject with a particle of prejudice—I am saying 
what I honestly believe to be the real cause of 
the falling off in Eton cricket. Goodness me ! 
the royal school has turned out some magnificent 
players in its time—may it not justly be proud of 
its Lytteltons, its Normans, its Lubbocks, and 
Trittons, and last but not least its great Mitchell ? 
Harrow cannot point to mightier names than 
these ! But on the last occasion can the most 
enthusiastic Etonian, the most devoted admirer 
of his school, say that the Eleven sent up to de¬ 
fend its colours was not the feeblest that had 
ever put in an appearance ? and yet it was only 
a shade worse than the one that had figured a 
year before. I am not going to blink the short¬ 
comings of my own school, and will candidly 
say that the Harrow Eleven was not what it 
ought to have been. Really the public school 
match of 1866 as a display of cricket was infi- 



76 


Harrov) Recollections. 


nitely below the average, and I have no hesita¬ 
tion whatever in saying that either Rugby, 
Marlborough, or Shrewsbury would have been 
able to meet and defeat the victor. But 
enough on this head, though, ere leaving it, 
I would sincerely hope that this year Eton 
may come into the field with better-drilled and 
more experienced defenders than she has done 
lately. 

It can be easily understood that, in order to 
afford all those who desire to play cricket the 
opportunity for doing so, some arrangement is 
necessary. This is done by dividing the school 
into a certain number of games. First of all 
comes the Sixth Form game, which is not, as its 
title would suggest, exclusively confined to the 
members of the Sixth Form. It is, in reality, 
the one in which the members of the Eleven, and 
those who are supposed to be the best cricketers 
in the schools, play. The selection of sides for it 
rests with the captain of the Eleven, who, every 
half-holiday, when no match is going on, puts up 
on the school gates a list—sometimes it is North 
v. South, sometimes the first Six v. the next 
Eleven, and so on. Next to this comes the 
Fifth Form game, which is managed by one of 
the boys in much the same manner. Then there 
is the Shell game; while in another field there is 
another called the Philathletic, which takes its 


Crichet Quarter . 77 

name from a club among tbe boys, of which more 
by-and-by. Thus it can easily be seen that for 
those who want to play there is ample opportu¬ 
nity, while, in addition, there is always plenty of 
space for some promiscuous games among those 
whose capabilities in the cricketing line are 
limited. Two fags are always told off for the 
post of scorer, both for the Sixth and Fifth Form 
games, an occupation by no means gratifying to 
individuals of an active temperament. The 
players in the Sixth Form game are excused 
from going up' to Four Bill, a great advantage, 
which spares them being interrupted and having 
to rush all the way up the hill, which is a by no 
means inviting ascent on a hot day. All the rest 
have to put in an appearance, which, in point of 
strictness of costume, is regulated according to 
the severity of the master whoso turn it is to 
call Bill. With some, cricket-shoes were allowed, 
but with others the most particular neatness was 
necessary—one I remember going the length of 
giving a boy fifty lines for appearing without his 
waistcoat. But this severity was exceptional; 
the masters, as a body, were very lenient in all 
matters relating to the sports and pastimes of 
the school, and would always listen to any excuse 
or explanation that was in the least degree plau¬ 
sible. The truth is, they estimate at its right 
value the importance of encouraging plenty of 


78 Harrow ’Recollections . 

out-door exercise for tlie encouragement of tlie 

“ mens sana.” 

There are always several matches played by 
the Eleven during cricket quarter. The Zingari 
annually come down, the Harlequins, the Quid¬ 
nuncs, and other well-known “ vagrants ” gene¬ 
rally show up and give the school an opportunity 
of trying its strength. On these occasions the 
other games are abandoned, and the boys gather 
themselves round the field, or on the steps of the 
Pavilion, and watch the contest with lively inter¬ 
est, the proportion of which naturally enough is 
in anticipation of the victory of their own side. 

The choice of the Eleven in its entirety is 
seldom, if ever, made till within a few days of 
the match at Lord's, so that in the earlier con¬ 
tests of the quarter many of the players are on 
trial, which of course puts them on their metal, 
and makes them exert themselves in the most 
terrific manner. And should one of these happen 
to miss a catch, his despair is heart-rending to 
behold. There is always a general conflict of 
opinion in the school as to who is and who is not 
entitled to the distinction of being in the Eleven, 
so that on match-days criticisms are very freely 
expressed, and Brown may only have to be 
bowled out for 0, for some one immediately to 
denounce him as an impostor and a duffer, not 
fit to hold a candle to Thompson, jun., who ought 


Cricket Quarter. 79 

to have been, but is not, playing in his place. If 
the captain were to walk round and hear the dif¬ 
ferent comparisons made, he would, by the time 
he had traversed the circle of judges, be com¬ 
pletely bewildered. But, fortunately for him, he 
has far sounder advisers, far more acute critics 
to guide him in the persons of Grimston and 
Ponsonby, to whose opinion he may well defer. 
How can I sufficiently express the obligation 
uuder which Harrow, past and present, remains 
to them ? How many summer evenings during 
the last—I do not know how many—years might 
they be found down at practice, coaching here, 
giving a hint there, showing which leg to put 
forward, and which to draw back; in fact, per¬ 
forming the whole duty of nurses to the youth¬ 
ful cricketers ? How carefully would they watch 
the different games, looking out to find any talent 
that might be hiding itself under a bushel, and 
wanting transplanting into the Sixth Form for 
cultivation and encouragement ? In short, how 
have they identified themselves with Harrow 
cricket in every way, and made themselves popu¬ 
lar with each generation of players ?—I do not 
believe there could be found one who would refuse 
to join me in Kip Yan Winkle's words, “ May 
they live long and prosper ! " 

The match is over, and a crowd is gathered 
round the captain of the Eleven, who is evidently 


80 


Harrow Recollections. 


about to perform some important duty, for he is 
talking with much animation to one of the Zin- 
gari, who is standing beside him, who is well 
known for his great cricketing qualities and still 
greater judgment in the game. What can it be? 
—for every one seems in a strange state of ex¬ 
citement. Presently the conversation ceases, and 
the captain calls for Roller, maj., who pushes his 
way to the front, and in a second or two more it 
is proclaimed that Roller, maj., has got his cap 
and is in the Eleven. How proud and elated he 
is with his distinction, as he walks away, escorted 
by his own particular friends and admirers, who 
congratulate him with thumps on the back and 
squeezings of the hand, very gratifying in point 
of warmth, but somewhat painful. Then Miss 
Fuller’s energies will most likely be called into 
requisition, in order duly to celebrate the auspi¬ 
cious event, which is not only considered a great 
honour to the boy himself, but also to his house, 
whose proceedings for the remainder of the 
evening will be as riotous and disorderly as the 
importance of the occasion demands. Heigho ! 
these things happen but once in a man’s lifetime, 
and in a few short years that smiling lad, with 
his white and blue striped cap, the insignia of 
his newly-acquired dignity, will have exchanged 
it for the soldier’s shako, or the barrister’s wig, 
and be thinking of far more serious matter than 


Cricket Quarter. 81 

“ shooters” and “leg bailers;” yet for the 
nonce his feeling of pride and satisfaction is very 
natural and very commendable too, and he may 
be assured that he will always look back with 
pleasure and self-complacency to the days when 
a blue and white cap could excite in his breast 
such strong emotion. He is not far wrong in 
thinking that those at home will be glad to hear 
of the honour he has achieved, and the governor 
will fully assure him of this when he sees him at 
Lord's, by the smile on his face and the gratified 
twinkle in his eye. Indeed, it is a great thing 
to have been in the Harrow Eleven, as those 
who have will bear testimony. 

I have forgotten to mention the matches that 
take place between the different houses, which 
are, as it may be easily understood, highly ex¬ 
citing, and create considerable interest. They 
are necessarily accompanied by a great deal of 
chaff, and the play is criticised in tones audible 
to all parties. 

It is generally rather late in the quarter before 
the final tie is reached, and as by that time most 
of those engaged have had plenty of practice, 
the contest is often a very even one, and the 
struggle for supremacy provokingly close. The 
reward for the winners is simple enough, the 
name of their house with the year of its victory 
is cut on the cricket championship board in the 

G 


82 


Harrow llecollections. 


Philathletic Club-room, where all the memorials 
of success in cricket, football, and like matters 
are preserved. Trifling though it may seem, 
this is a distinction for which many a hard bruise 
and awkward rap is suffered with equanimity! 






( 83 ) 


CHAPTER VII. 

MISCELLANEOUS AMUSEMENTS. 

Besides cricket, football, and racquets, there are 
of course other promiscuous amusements and 
games, more or less generally indulged in, which 
are the fashion at seasons duly suitable for their 
enjoyment. Hare and hounds, which is per¬ 
mitted at Rugby, and so graphically described in 
the immortal pages of “ Tom Brown,” is a dead 
letter at Harrow. When the present Head 
Master came into office first, he was persuaded 
to permit it on trial; but he was soon of the 
same mind on the subject as Doctor Vaughan 
had been. Complaints, verbal and epistolary, 
came pouring in from the farmers in every direc¬ 
tion, describing in ihe most heartrending terms 
how their hedges were desolated, and their young 
wheats ruthlessly trampled down, and compen¬ 
sation was demanded in language that could 
not be mistaken. The result of all this was 
that the “ hunting ” season was brought to an 
unceremonious conclusion, not, however, before 
there had been one or two most remarkable per¬ 
formances of I do not know how many miles in an 
astoundingly short period of time, which, being 
a 2 


84 


Harrow Recollections. 


repeated from mouth to mouth, at length came 
to be believed. I remember, though, a really 
good run in which I assisted, in conjunction with 
some twenty others, most of whom had spent 
the previous evening in tearing up every piece 
of waste paper they could lay their hands 
on into little bits, for the accommodation 
of the “ hares,” who, in consideration of the 
labour they were to undergo on the morrow, 
were allowed to look on in dignified idleness. 
From that evening, by the way, I date the dis¬ 
appearance of a Pott's “ Euclid,” which I believe 
firmly was surreptitiously disposed of during my 
temporary absence from the room, and I have a 
faint recollection of a piece of paper fluttering 
on the end of a stinging-nettle, which I caught 
sight of as I ran past, with something very like 
the figure of an anglo upon it. However to the 
more immediate business, which promised fair, 
with a southerly wind and a steady rain, in the 
early morning. After two o'clock bill, however, 
it had cleared up, and tho “ field'' duly assem¬ 
bled in the church-yard, evidently prepared for 
a long and dirty run, which, by the way, had to 
be accomplished in two hours, our presence at 
four bill being indispensable. The two hares 
had started some ten minutes before, and were 
no doubt taking full advantage of their oppor¬ 
tunity to make tracks. At length the quarter 


Miscellaneous Amusements. 85 

of an hour's law was up, and the welcome order 
given to start, and away we went; the practised 
hands taking it very steadily, and keeping the 
wind in anticipation of the final burst. It was 
not very long before we were in the midst of the 
field, going pretty much together, though the 
depth of the furrows and the heaviness of the 
soil caused a good deal of stumbling; in fact, if I 
remember aright, one or two did come down, a 
feat which was repeated by a good many more 
over the high hedge that bounded the farther 
end of the field. Our experienced whip informed 
us that we were making for either Hanwell or 
Uxbridge, he was not quite sure which, though 
an ordinary observer, impartially regarding our 
heated faces and muddy clothes, would have had 
very little difficulty in settling in his own mind 
which of the two ought to have been our desti¬ 
nation. By this time we were traversing a fine 
field of mangolds, that, in the most considerate 
manner imaginable, washed the mud off our 
boots, leaving us somewhat damp after the 
operation. But this was nothing to what was 
to follow. Some three or four miles had been 
accomplished, at this distance of time I cannot 
speak exactly, when, the length of a field a-head, 
might be seen two horses, with a man on the 
leader, trudging along as if dragging something 
behind them. Good gracious, was it possible ? 


86 


Harrow Recollections. 


No; they could not have been so foolhardy ! To 
make a long matter short, we very soon came 
to a check on the banks of the canal, which the 
two hares, to all appearances, had boldly crossed, 
for on the other side the trail of paper might be 
seen. This was a poser, and no bridge for a 
mile or more either way. There was no help 
for it; either in and over or the chase must be 
abandoned. The gallant whip treated the latter 
notion with scorn, and, without another word, 
set a good example by going in bodily and 
striking out like a man. We all followed him 
but two, who remained only to be unmercifully 
chaffed for funking. We were however delayed 
by a contretemps that very nearly proved fatal. 
One of the hounds, when only half way across, 
shouted out something about the cramp, and 
sure enough by the time we had turned round 
his head had gone underneath, while a disre¬ 
putably-looking straw hat, much the worse for 
wear, was all that remained to mark the spot of 
his disappearance. Again was our gallant whip 
to the fore, and in he went, this time with a dive, 
and presently returned with the aforesaid hound, 
whom he safely landed. Fortunately in two or 
three minutes he was all right again; but it was 
considered unadvisable for him to continue in 
chase, so he was sent home in charge of the 
two who had refused the water, they walking on 


Miscellaneous Amusements. 87 

one side of the canal, and he on the other.* 
Owing to this occurrence we had been delayed 
some ten minutes, and it was necessary now to 
make up for lost time. So away we went at a 
rattling pace, which, after a mile and a half, 
resulted in some five or six tailing off, which 
number was gradually increased as our opera¬ 
tions extended. Looking back upon my per¬ 
formance on that day, it now presents an appear¬ 
ance of impossibility that almost makes me doubt 
whether I have not been dreaming. Neverthe¬ 
less, I have not been courting the fancy for 
inspiration, but out of an old diary in which 
from time to time memoranda were jotted down, 
this is taken. Thus much of interval for taking 
breath, and then on, on, over three fields so wet 
and clayey that they must have been a terrible 
sorrow to their owner. We were going unplea¬ 
santly near a farm-house—how could our two 
hares have been so imprudent ?—for it was just 
as likely as not that we should meet with a 
warm reception. The anticipation was fully 
realized; the farmer and a couple of his men 
suddenly jumped up from behind a hedge, armed 
with pitchforks, and forthwith called upon us to 


* I ought to mention that the costume worn on these 
occasions is of the slightest description, and even when 
thoroughly wet would not carry much water. 


88 


Harrow Recollections. 


surrender; but as tbe language used was any¬ 
thing but classical or parliamentary, and the 
parties not particularly prepossessing in appear¬ 
ance, we kept on, being ourselves pursued 
in turn by the three rustics, whose lasting pro¬ 
perties, we calculated, were not of an extensive 
character. In addition to which they kept 
calling out all sorts of threats, an exhaustive 
process that must eventually tell upon them. 
The farmer himself made one more terrific 
effort, leaving his subordinates in difficulties at 
a ditch and a hedge, over which he somehow 
or other managed to stumble. Then came 
another, when he had so far improved his position 
that he was within a couple of feet of me. Over 
I went; but his strength was well nigh spent; 
giving an awful thrust at me with his pitchfork, 
as he too came over, he missed me; but, alas ! a 
terrible retribution fell upon him for his cowardly 
attempt to do me an injury; he fell with great 
force right on to the end of one of the prongs. 
What injury he sustained I never learned till 
some time afterwards, when I was informed that 
he had had a very ugly wound in the neck; but, 
upon my life, I cannot help saying that I think 
it served him right. No doubt it was very 
annoying to see a lot of boys scrambling through 
his hedges, and trampling down his turnips, 
but he would have done far better to leave a 


Miscellaneous Amusements. 89 

dangerous weapon like a pitchfork at home in 
the cow-yard. By the time all this happened 
the field was reduced to eight, and we were just 
skirting the outside of Uxbridge. What would 
I not have given to stop for a glass of beer, a 
feeling in which most if not all my companions 
joined. But it was no use ; for, as it was, we had 
scarcely time to enable us to be back for bill, 
and the punishment for absence was very severe, 
and to one or two in the company, who had 
previously been up to the doctor for the same 
offence, promised a very painful alternative. Our 
hares had been too good for us; they had given 
us too much sport, and there did not seem any 
likelihood of our catching them. By this time 
their noses were evidently set in the direction of 
home, and, to our great astonishment and amuse¬ 
ment, we found that, after describing a circle, 
we came back to precisely the same line of 
country we had followed coming, though this 
was not till after we had crossed the canal once 
again, though this time by a bridge. Nearly 
two miles more to go to save our bacon, for we 
could hear the school-bell ringing the summons 
to bill, so that there were only some ten minutes. 
Wild were the efforts to increase the pace, and 
at length, like a band of Garibaldians before they 
had received their uniforms, we rushedthroughthe 
streets of Harrow, some three minutes after the 


90 


Harrow Recollections. 


two hares, who thus escaped us after having given 
us such terrific hard work. The master who 
was calling bill somewhat objected to our ap¬ 
pearance, but let us off with fifty lines a-piece, at 
which we considered ourselves very lucky. The 
oddest part of the whole thing was that the two 
who had refused the water, and their companion, 
and those who had tailed off, never turned up at 
all to bill, and received a punishment in propor¬ 
tion accordingly, which I fancy was somewhat 
aggravated by it having got abroad that they 
were out indulging in the forbidden sport of 
hare-and-hounds. 

In default of other inducements to exercise, 
many of the boys used to take what were called 
“runs,” which in reality meant walks to some 
place within reasonable distance. Southall, 
Hanwell, and Ealing, in one direction, and 
Elstree, Watford, and Stanmore, in the other, 
were among the most popular. It never was quite 
clear to me whether any of these w T ere strictly 
speaking out of bounds, though I believe the 
railway-bridge was supposed to be the line of 
demarcation one way, and the canal the other. 
At any rate, no one appeared to entertain any 
very serious fear of the consequences in the event 
of discovery. Much harm could not be done in 
the limited space of the two hours between bill, 
during which twelve miles more or less had to 



Miscellaneous Amusements. 91 

be accomplished. Once, on the occasion of the 
University race, a party of us ran over to Kew, 
where we had a sumptuous breakfast at the 
“ Star and Garter/' and then took a boat and 
pulled up to witness the great event. On this 
occasion,however, fortunately for us, our tutor was 
of the company, and gave us leave from bill. I 
ought here to mention that when names are called 
over, a tick is put to those who are absent, and a 
list made out by the monitor of the week, which 
is handed to the school monitor—a boy chosen 
weekly from the lower shell and fourth forms 
—and it is his duty to go round to the various 
tutors, to find out from them whether the boys 
in their house have been absentees with or with¬ 
out leave. If the master has given permission, 
he signs his name by the side of that of his 
pupil on the list, and nothing more is heard or 
said; if otherwise, the result is usually an inter¬ 
view with the Head Master, and punishment, 
more or less severe, follows as a matter of course. 
There is always a good deal of amusement’ in 
the forms when the school monitor comes round 
and informs the master that So-and-so is to go 
to the Head Master at six o'clock. All sorts of 
playful suggestions are made as to the fate 
awaiting him, and the most hypocritical sympathy 
is offered, the only effect of which is to increase 
the number of shivers that by-and-by will shoot 


92 Harrow Recollections. 

down his backbone when the awful moment 
arrives. 

There is, however, a very important item in the 
sports and games of Harrow that remains to be 
mentioned, namely the races, which take place 
when football is over and before cricket com¬ 
mences, and which excite a good deal of interest, 
not only in but outside the school. Wonderful 
is the training gone into by ambitious youths, 
who long for the triumphant pewter, and go 
through all sorts of extremities to gain length 
of wind and speediness of action. Fuller's is 
for a time eschewed, ices are abandoned, and 
cranberry pie refused with determination; all 
these juvenile indiscretions are avoided, and the 
mind is entirely occupied in removing so much 
unnecessary weight from the corpulent body. 
A certain fellow, who shall be nameless, being 
first favourite for the champion hurdle - race, 
must needs go into violent practice, the re¬ 
sult of which was that one fine afternoon he 
was brought up on a hurdle with his leg 
broken, to say nothing of a nasty dislocation 
of the shoulder ; so he was obliged to be 
i( scratched," much to the mortification of cer¬ 
tain sporting youths, who had, unlike their more 
cautious brethren of the turf, backed the favour¬ 
ite against the field. The races at Harrow used 
to last for some considerable time, as there were 



Miscellaneous Amusements . 93 

a large number of events that had to be decided, 
for which the extensive array of entries rendered 
it necessary that there should be several heats. 
There were the champion hurdle and flat races, 
champion jumping, the two hundred yards cham¬ 
pion, and so on, ad libitum. Then there were 
different races for different forms, both over 
hurdle and the flat, long jumping, pole jumping, 
and such like. All these took place in the foot¬ 
ball field, where a course was duly selected and 
arranged ; the monitors and members of the 
Philathletic keeping the course clear. Some¬ 
times a. more than usual amount of excitement 
was aroused, especially when the champion flat 
and hurdle races were coming off, on the result 
of which there was a tremendous outlay of 
Saturday pocket money, to say nothing of certain 
old boys who came down, and in the most fla¬ 
grantly open manner laid astonishingly long odds 
that they knew they were perfectly certain to lose. 

I often laugh as I think of the select few who 
used to belong to the sporting set; they certainly 
were the most amusing collection of babies. 
Then I could scarcely appreciate them for what 
they were worth; the utter nonsense they used 
to talk ; the extraordinary theories by which an 
apt pupil would be certain to win. If the child 
is father to the man, as we are taught to be¬ 
lieve, they will afford pretty subjects for plunder 


94 


Harrow Recollections. 


to the enlightened and unscrupulous members 
of the ring, who are especially fond of plucking 
young chickens of their feathers, of which we are 
just now getting a notable instance in the person 
of a certain youthful scion of the aristocracy, 
whose proclivities at Eton have only enlarged 
since his departure thence, and apprenticeship 
at the University. 

There was one boy at Harrow dreadfully given 
to speculation of this kind, though he did not 
confine himself to school races and contests, 
but wandered into the more extensive sphere of 
betting on the principal horse-races at New¬ 
market, Doncaster, and Epsom. About the 
period of the Derby he was notably ill at ease; 
his lessons were neglected, and he was perpetu¬ 
ally to be seen hanging about some corner of the 
school-yard, contemplating a small pocket-book, 
in which were entered his various investments of 
capital. He was a great man in his way; he 
knew George Fordham, or Ned Challoner, or 
some other jockey celebrity, who had told him 
that Pumpernickel was sure to win this, or Sca¬ 
venger was a certainty for that. In fact, his 
acquaintance with the sporting fraternity was 
taken to be conclusive proof of his title to a very 
considerable amount of respect from his less en¬ 
lightened schoolfellows. But, alas, for the noble 
youth! somehow or other his calculations got 


Miscellaneous Amusements . 


95 


into a mess, and his arithmetic failed him ; after 
a certain great race he was woefully on the wrong 
side, so much so that, in order to supply the de¬ 
ficiency, he helped himself to some money that 
did not belong to him, and satisfactorily ruined 
himself for the remainder of his life. Terrible 
was the retribution, and so it must remain to his 
dying day. I can, and presuming on old acquaint¬ 
ance dare, here offer a piece of advice. My dear 
boys, take my word for it, you had far better 
refrain from anything to do with backing or lay¬ 
ing the odds against horses, boys, or anything 
else. It only excites an unwholesome, unnatural 
feeling, that will unsettle you during your school 
days, both in work and play time, and when you 
grow up lead you into all kinds of extravagances 
that do not even redeem themselves by giving 
any return in the way of pleasure for the money 
that has been wasted. Once acquire a love for 
that kind of thing, and vain would be your effort 
to root it out; far wiser to commence with the 
resolve of having nothing to do with it in any 
shape or form. I am sure these remarks will bo 
accepted in the spirit they are offered; and I 
think I may claim a hearing, on the ground of 
previous good character, in what I have said as 
to liberty in word and action. 

On all days when the races are to take place, a 
card is published on which are printed the various 


96 


Harrow Recollections. 


events that are to come off ; and if the day hap¬ 
pens to be fine, there is usually a large attend¬ 
ance, with a fair smattering of ladies* dresses to 
enliven the monotony of shell jackets and tail 
coats, not forgetting their objectionable com¬ 
panion, the tall black hat, with which is com¬ 
pleted the costume of the Harrow boy in the 
year of grace, 1866. Nothing more monstrous 
can be conceived, and I commend the subject to 
the attendance of those who purpose regulations 
for the public schools. There are some old cus¬ 
toms so obviously absurd and out of place, that 
abolition in their entirety is necessary, and this 
is the case with Harrow costume, which the 
sooner it is altered, the better. On such half¬ 
holidays as are chosen for settling the various 
races, the sport commences immediately after 
two bill, and is continued till four bill. The 
prizes are of various kinds, though the usual 
article chosen as a token of victory is a pewter, 
on which the fortunate gainer has his name and 
the race he has won, and so on, engraved. Be¬ 
sides this, there are several challenge cups which 
the winner holds until he is defeated, at the same 
time having the distinguished honour of his name 
being engraved on a board, kept for the pur¬ 
pose, in the Philathletic Club-room. In passing, 
just a word of this Club, which I have had occa¬ 
sion to mention several times previously. It is 


Miscellaneous Amusements . 97 

composed of a certain number of the senior 
boys, and the election is by ballot; the monitors, 
and the football and the cricket eleven, are ex 
officio members; all the rest have to enter by 
vote. No one below the fifth form is eligible, 
which is no doubt intended to keep up the dig¬ 
nity of the establishment. The Philathletic, as 
it is shortly called, has a large room over Crossley 
and Clarke's, the school booksellers, where the 
football, cricket, and the other champion boards, 
so often mentioned, are kept as memorials of the 
glorious struggles of the past; and a large num¬ 
ber of ices in the summer, and cups of coffee in 
the winter, are disposed of during the transaction 
of the important matters of business that attach 
to memberhood. Much time is also spent there 
in writing letters, as is always the case where 
an unlimited supply of paper and envelopes may 
be found; but at the same time, as an institu¬ 
tion, it was of very great use, and especially in 
the arrangement and regulation of the races, 
which always passed off without any hitch or 
flaw, all disputes being immediately investigated 
and decided upon by a committee of the club. 

Singularly enough, hockey is a game seldom 
if ever played at Harrow, in fact, in my time I 
do not recollect it at all; indeed, I believe there 
was one old rule in existence, forbidding it alto¬ 
gether. There was little also in the way of fives; 
n 


98 


Harrow Recollections . 


but since then some courts have been built, and 
the spirit of the game having been then engen¬ 
dered, the notion has been caught up and be¬ 
come popular. In close proximity to the school- 
yard is the milling ground, where differences 
of opinion are settled by that most satisfactory 
of school-boy means, the fists, though it will be 
freely admitted the ordeal through which they 
pass is a somewhat trying one. The encounter 
has to take place on a half-holiday, after two 
bill, according to the Monitorial Code. A very 
amusing occurrence once happened in connection 
with a fight which it was reported was to be so¬ 
lemnized with due ceremony at the appointed spot 
at the customary hour. Both of the combatants 
happened to be in the same house as myself, and 
I was therefore intimately acquainted with the 
entire circumstances of the case, which were 
shortly as follows. Undoubtedly there had been 
a serious quarrel between these two boys, which 
they were both satisfied could only be settled by 
muscular arrangement; but as neither of them 
cared about displaying themselves before the 
whole assembled school, they determined to call 
the shrubbery in their tutors garden into requi¬ 
sition on the very morning of the day when it 
was generally expected they would give their 
public performance, and there all unpleasantnesses 
were set right to their mutual satisfaction. Be- 



Miscellaneous Amusements. 99 

yond one of them having a nasty black eye, and 
the other a piece of sticking-plaster on his upper 
lip, no great damage had been done; but Mr. 
Mortimer knew perfectly well what they had 
been up to, and though not wishing to punish 
them severely, kept them out of school for the 
rest of the day, and made them stay in their 
rooms. Great was the excitement after bill, and 
immense was the assemblage gathered together 
for the purpose of witnessing the expected con¬ 
test. As for myself, I stood by enjoying the 
joke. “ Why don't they come ? '■ asked one. 
<( Oh, they're a couple of funkers," said another, 
who considered himself entitled to a high cha¬ 
racter for courage, on account of his general 
reputation as a bully, in his house. But five, 
ten, and then fifteen minutes passed, and no 
appearance of either combatant, both of whom, 
now the best of friends once more, were enjoying 
one another's society, and sucking the orange of 
renewed affection. The murder was out at last, 
and it really was worth the kick I got from the 
aforesaid bully for my reticence, to watch the 
disappointment of the multitude as they moved 
away, vowing vengeance against those who had 
failed to make a disgusting exhibition of them¬ 
selves. I do not, by this, intend to convey the 
notion that I regard the rule of the school only 
permitting fighting to take place in public a bad 
h % 


100 


Harrow Recollections. 


one; on the contrary, I believe it works for 
good, and induces the arrangement of many a 
paltry squabble. In addition to this, plenty of 
time is afforded for reflection, during which 
period the ill blood is mostly got rid of; and if 
the boy who is challenged fights, it is probably 
to vindicate his character, or assert his sturdy 
opposition to bullying, at the hands of some 
coward who has attempted to take advantage of 
him. There is no surer way of exposing the 
bully, than by making him show how he can put 
up with being well knocked about. 

The foundation of the School Rifle Corps is a 
matter of later date, concerning which I am 
unable to say more than that, at a field-day a short 
time since, I saw the boys in their grey uniform 
faced with blue, doing their share of the day's 
proceedings with admirable celerity and pre¬ 
cision. With reference to their capabilities in 
the way of shooting, the best proof maybe found 
in the Wimbledon records, where they have car¬ 
ried off the Public Schools Prize two years 
running, and that with a very fair aggregate 
score indeed. Of course, there are a variety of 
other amusements for individuals, to which it 
would obviously be impossible for me to refer. 
Some are of the naturalist or botanist turn; 
others prefer chemistry and mechanics ; all 
are free to indulge in their own particular 


Miscellaneous Amusements. 101 

fancy, so long as it does not partake of the 
dangerous. Pistols and air-guns are, of course, 
most properly prohibited; and catapults, with 
which my young readers may be acquainted, 
are also included. Hairpins were the favourite 
missile employed for these last-named, and some 
ugly accidents were the result, a boy nearly 
losing the sight of his eye through one of them. 
After this, a general surrender was demanded, 
an order which, with some few exceptions, was 
immediately obeyed; and you were then able to 
walk about without the fear of being blinded at 
every step. 

During the winter, if there is a hard frost, 
skating and sliding are freely indulged in on 
“ Duck Puddle,” and all kinds of novelties are 
invented. If there happens to be much snow, a 
good deal of snowballing goes on, which often 
resolves itself into a battle-royal between the 
roughs and the school. On one occasion the 
consequences were somewhat serious, as not only 
were some of the windows of the head master’s 
house broken, but several of the boys had their 
heads cut open, the “ cads ” thinking it neces¬ 
sary to harden their projectiles by putting stones 
in them. For this, however, they received con¬ 
dign punishment, which sent some of them away 
rather more quickly than they had expected. 
What a curious thing it is that the lower 


102 


Harrow Recollections * 


orders always end their play by losing their tem¬ 
pers and taking to fighting. Thus much of general 
amusements, which, as far as I can remember, I 
have enumerated. 


CHAPTER VIII. 


SPEECH DAY. 

Every year, towards the end of the Midsummer 
quarter, takes place the great festival Speech 
Day, when papas and mammas and “ old boys ” 
assemble in great force to do fitting honour to 
the auspicious occasion. From an early hour in 
the morning the village, or town I suppose it 
should be called, is in a state of great excite¬ 
ment and holiday costume is to be seen every¬ 
where. As to the proceedings, they are of 
a highly interesting and instructive character. 
The speeches themselves are not, as the title 
would imply, bursts of eloquence or flights of 
oratory. They consist of a series of recitations 
from ancient and modern authors, including 
selections from the best English dramatists, 
among whom, in my time, Sheridan was parti¬ 
cularly popular. In addition to these, the prize 
essays and poems in Latin, Greek, and English 
are spoken by their respective authors, much to 
the admiration of paterfamilias and wonderment 
of dear mamma, who sits by and listens, suffused 
with smiles of gratified pride, trying to look as 


104 


Harrow Recollections. 


if she perfectly understood the meaning of every 
word that was being uttered, and was thoroughly 
conversant with Greek iambics and Latin hexa¬ 
meters. As for sister Lucy or Laura, if that be 
the name of the charming creature in the mauve 
bonnet, she endeavours as far as possible to 
emulate the maternal manner, and laughs in the 
prettiest way imaginable as she catches inspira¬ 
tion from the smiles on the faces of the reverend 
dons and learned dignitaries, occupying the place 
of honour near the stage, whose faculty of hu¬ 
mour has been tickled by some obscure Aristo- 
phanean joke that occurs in the course of a 
recitation from one of that facetious elderly 
Greek gentleman's compositions. But see, the 
author of the prize English poem stands forth 
by himself to let the assembled audience judge 
whether he has any claim to be looked upon as 
a successor to the immortal poet of Harrow, 
whose muse was wont to indulge its fancies as 
his eyes wandered over the green fields, stretch¬ 
ing miles away in the distance from the tomb 
in the churchyard. By the way, little remains 
of that seat which Byron delighted to honour. 
Cockney London, with its customary vandalism, 
has chipped unto itself little pieces, till nearly 
the whole of the old monument has vanished. 
Juvenile poetry is, as a general rule, tame and 
insipid, but I remember one or two most excel- 


1 05 


Speech Day. 

lent efforts in the way 'of prize poems, which 
were as superior to their predecessors and suc¬ 
cessors as Tennyson is to the laureate of a 
country newspaper. It must have been nervous 
work giving forth your own composition in the 
face of such a packed and aristocratic audience, 
but you had always the advantage of knowing 
that it was highly appreciated, and there was 
little fear of want of applause when you came to 
a conclusion. 

Of all the visitors to Speech Day no one w^as 
so regular as Lord Palmerston, who always 
evinced a deep and lasting interest in his old 
school, and availed himself of the opportunity for 
a few hours* relaxation from public business to 
revisit the place where, years gone by, he cut 
the name of Temple with his penknife on the 
wall of the old fourth-form room. He almost 
invariably rode down from town on his familiar 
grey horse, and back again into the bargain. 
Popular as he was everywhere, and with every 
class of persons, the Harrow boys always seemed 
determined to give him the most flattering, and 
therefore noisiest, assurances of their favour, and 
directly his face w r as seen at the top of the 
school steps, as he came out of Speech-room, 
a roar of cheering would greet him, that might 
almost have been heard at St. Paul's. It 
was singularly affecting to see the old man, 


106 


Harrow Recollections. 


with, his bare head and cheerful smile, bow¬ 
ing his acknowledgments to his youthful 
admirers ; the past and present seemed for 
the moment to meet, and two generations to 
come together. Who can say what thoughts 
passed through his ever active working mind as 
he stood there ? Perhaps the old school times 
came back, old forms and faces shaped them¬ 
selves in the air, and took their places beside 
him, and he felt himself once again one of those 
shouting lads, full of life and spirit, little antici¬ 
pating the brilliant future of fame and honour 
before him. Even among the throng through 
which he would now have to pass there might be 
a young life hereafter to follow in the same path 
he had gone, whose name would become familiar 
in every English home and household. When¬ 
ever Lord Palmerston came down, an extra 
week^s holiday was the invariable result, a fact 
which, as it may be easily understood, made his 
visits highly popular. But he is gone now, and 
another must perform the same kind offices; 
still he will always be remembered, not only 
with admiration, but affection by those who, like 
himself, were lovers of the old school. 

The crush to get inside Speech-room is some¬ 
thing perfectly alarming, the entrance being of 
the most contracted and uncomfortable descrip¬ 
tion. The extraordinary part of it is that the 


107 


Speech Bay. 

occupation is left almost entirely to the fairer 
sex, who, as everybody knows, under such a 
condition of circumstances, are always equal to 
the occasion. They are so very polite, and 
smile at one another in the most pleasant and 
agreeable manner; but, as to giving way the 
third of an inch, that is quite out of the question; 
they rather push on with the most indomitable 
energy and determination, utterly regardless of 
consequences. As I have said before, to them 
and a certain number of celebrities and Dons the 
occupation of Speech-room on the great day is 
entirely surrendered, and it takes very little time 
to fill every nook and corner, which, when the 
feat has been accomplished, has the appearance 
of a variegated flower-garden. And some sweet 
pretty flowers there are, I can tell you, and some 
of the rarest that old mother England can pro¬ 
duce. After the speeches are over, the visitors 
adjourn to the houses of the various masters, 
where luncheon is provided. At the Head 
Master's the more distinguished guests are 
entertained, and some speechifying takes place. 
By the time all this is over there is a perform¬ 
ance of music on the organ in the chapel, which) 
of course, attracts a large number of listeners, 
who besides have an opportunity of examining 
the beauties of this really unique little building. 
By-and-by it becomes time to go home, and the 


108 


Harrow Recollections. 


town soon relapses into its former state of quiet 
and repose. For, although, it has a school of 
five hundred boys within its limits, it is at all 
times singularly peaceful, except, of course, 
during the time w r hen the bell is ringing for 
bill, and the various houses empty themselves of 
their inmates. 

But what about bathing ? I fancy I hear some 
one ask. How do Harrow boys manage to learn 
to swim? Well, then, be it known that, on the 
further side of football field, about three-quarters 
of a mile from the town, exists a certain institu¬ 
tion known as “ Duck-puddle.” The name is 
not encouraging; it is suggestive of a dirty 
farm-yard and a slimy pond, with the said bipeds 
poking their beaks into the muddy ooze. But, 
as is often remarked, “ what's in a name ? ” and 
so in the present instance the question applies 
most appropriately. Duck-puddle, or Ducker, 
as it is more familiarly termed, is a long swim¬ 
ming-bath in the open air, deep at one end, 
shallow at the other, with spring boards to jump 
off, and dressing-sheds round, the whole shut in 
by a high fence. As will be readily understood, 
in the summer it is a very favourite place of 
resort, some young gentlemen having been 
known to spend a whole half-holiday bathing 
at intervals. At Eton every boy is obliged to 
swim a certain distance before he is allowed to 


109 


Speech Day. 

go out in a boat; at Harrow, on the contrary, no 
compulsory practice of the art of natation is 
enjoined, but almost all who bathe in Ducker 
learn it somehow or other. When I first went to 
Harrow I was utterly unable to keep myself up 
in the water; in fact, I had such a horror of 
taking my feet off the ground, that it was pain 
and misery for me to bathe at all. I have no 
doubt that much of this was owing to the unwise 
tactics of a friend, who had very early endea¬ 
voured to introduce me to the study of swimming 
by taking me much out of my depth, and then 
leaving me to struggle as best I could. The 
result was that, instead of striking out for life, 
as had been anticipated, I sank to the bottom, 
and ran a very narrow risk of being done for 
altogether, while the before-mentioned friend 
only just escaped being put on his trial for man¬ 
slaughter. The amount of misery and shivering 
I had gone through in my efforts to conquer this 
fear of the water did not incline me to the use of 
Ducker. But I found that all my house, with 
scarcely an exception, patronized it daily. There 
were two new boys, who, like myself, could not 
swim; but they had determined to learn, and 
after a great deal of persuasion induced me to 
coincide with them in their most praiseworthy 
resolve. We were to go down very early in the 
morning, when very few other fellows would be 


110 


Harrow Recollections. 


there, so that we might have freedom and space 
for our first attempt. Oh, how I shivered and 
shook as soon after six o'clock we turned out of 
the house and wended our way towards Ducker, 
There could be no doubt about it, I was in a 
terrible fright, and what was worse, my com¬ 
panions could see it. The consequence was that 
they unmercifully chaffed me, which only in¬ 
creased the feeling of discomfort. It took me 
a very long time to undress ! 

Now, as I said before, one end of the bath was 
deep and the other shallow, but not having been 
down before, I did not know which was which, so 
asked for information. Slowly I descended the 
steps, first one foot and then the other, till the 
water was up to my middle. I began to feel 
terribly frightened; even at the shallowest it 
must be deep, I thought. I took one step more, 
and before a second was over I was beautifully 
underneath the water, as I afterwards found, 
some one foot and a half out of my depth. 
Whether my previous experience in a like pre¬ 
dicament roused me to action I do not know, but 
as I came to the top I made the most terrific 
movements with arms and legs, and to such good 
purpose that I eventually gained the steps, puff¬ 
ing and blowing like a young grampus. As for 
the two traitors who had deceived me, they were 
quietly disporting themselyes at the end furthest 


Ill 


Speech Day. 

from me in shallow water. I have often thought 
their trick was a silly one; it might have so hap¬ 
pened that terror would have paralyzed me, and 
if so, they being unable to swim, could not have 
been of any use to me. To them, however, I owe 
being able to keep myself up with comfort in the 
water now, and I had my revenge on one of them a 
couple of years after by beating him in the swim¬ 
ming races in the most hollow and satisfactory man¬ 
ner. These took place during the summer quarter, 
and excited some interest. There used to be a 
prize for “ headers ” which were taken off a high 
spring-board, that only a select few ventured to 
ascend. But it was astounding with what neat¬ 
ness and grace some would do them, one very tall 
fellow being especially clever in this respect. 
With reference to learning to swim, I could 
make a suggestion or two. Never try to be too 
adventurous all at once, or to go out of your 
depth before you are perfectly able to get back 
again. The great thing first to be done is to 
acquire confidence in your own powers, and to 
turn yourself backwards and forwards in the 
water without throwing up your head and catch¬ 
ing for help with your hand. This may all be 
learnt just as well “ in ” your depth and without 
the slightest possibility of a mishap. Nothing 
can be so utterly foolish and reckless as for any¬ 
body to take a young lad who is unacquainted 


112 


Harrow Recollections. 


with, swimming and to throw him overboard from 
a boat, leaving him to struggle as best he can. It 
may answer in one case out of a hundred, but 
certainly not more, and with the rest may and 
probably will create a panic that will remain, 
perhaps never to be overcome. 

Naturally enough, among so large a number 
of boys, there are many who are strong in their 
musical tastes, and for them exists the Harrow 
Musical Society, that I remember gave some very 
creditable and agreeable concerts, which were 
chiefly instrumental. They were always very 
well attended, and the masters and their wives 
and the inhabitants of the town used to show up 
in great force. All I can say is that the playing 
was excessively good, and would have been credit¬ 
able even in professional performers. Once or 
twice original pieces, composed by members of 
the Society, were given,'and highly creditable 
they were. Mr. Charles Deffell, the composer of 
the pretty little operetta, “ Christmas Eve,” was, 
I believe, long connected with the Society, 
and through it introduced his first musical at¬ 
tempt to notice. The general body of the schodl 
did not appear to take much interest in these 
musical matters, and formed but a small pro¬ 
portion of the audience that assembled at the 
concerts. On one or two occasions the organist 
of the chapel gave a concert in Speech-room, 


113 


Speech Bay. 

when some of the best singers from Town 
came down, and then a large assemblage of the 
boys was to be reckoned on. Thackeray, too, 
so I have heard, gave a reading or lecture not 
so very long before his death, and was most tri¬ 
umphantly received. 

There is, or was, a debating society-, which 
used to meet in the monitor's library, where dis¬ 
cussions on matters political and social took place 
once a week, and where, no doubt, a very large 
amount of nonsense was talked. This sort of 
thing is very well in its way; but a too frequent 
use leads into a careless and slipshod style 
of speaking that is very difficult to get out of 
afterwards. The Union at Oxford is about the 
best specimen of a debating society under the 
most favourable circumstances; but men who 
have used it much always admit that its advan¬ 
tages are not nearly so marvellous as certain en¬ 
thusiasts would have us believe. 

The literary element also was not ignored at 
Harrow, and at intervals there has been a school 
paper, or magazine, or whatever it should be 
called. The last of these was the “ Triumvirate," 
which was started by three of the monitors, and 
for a short time made a fairish appearance. As 
might be expected, its tone was decidedly didactic, 
and the editorial “ we" occurred frequently. Its 
politics I am at this moment unable to state; but, 

i 


114 


Harrow Recollections. 


if I remember aright, it was not particularly at¬ 
tached to Earl Russell. Its columns were open 
to contributions from the school, and in its pages 
I had the honour of seeing my first literary at¬ 
tempt in print. It was poetry—or rhyme would 
be the better term—and had much of the charac¬ 
teristics of a hymn. The next effort was in the 
way of fiction, and two chapters appeared; but 
the rest were so dreadfully commonplace and 
devoid of interest, while the “ denouement 33 
seemed so very far off, that the editors, with 
much regret, informed me that they were un¬ 
avoidably compelled to suspend its further publi¬ 
cation. However, the ee Triumvirate 33 managed 
to go on without it, till at length it collapsed, 
after an existence of some twelve or eighteen 
months, leaving its promoters, I fear, somewhat 
out of pocket. Since its decease 1 have not heard 
of the appearance of any new literary attempt, 
and I should rather fancy that no one is inclined 
to risk the chance of a like failure. I never 
remember anything in the way of theatricals; 
the nearest approach to the dramatic line was a 
Christy Minstrel performance we gave in our 
house once or twice, which was numerously and 
fashionably attended by an audience consisting 
of the butler and housemaid, accompanied by 
some dozen or fifteen of the other boys. We 
were placed at considerable disadvantage, owing 
to the confined space of the room; but a stage 


Speech Bay. 


115 


was improvised by means of three beds put in a 
line, on which we placed our chairs. The seat 
was, however, very rickety, and Massa Bones, 
in the phrenzy of his musical soul, lost his 
balance, and went over with a terrific bump on 
to the ground, much to his own astonishment, 
and the amusement of the rest. Unfortunately 
we made rather too much noise one evening, and 
the result was that our musical performances on 
the comb were ordered to be adjourned sine die , 
the tambourine having been confiscated, greatly 
to the indignation of its owner, who so openly 
expressed his displeasure, that he was overheard 
by his tutor, and got into hot water. 

The school doctor has always plenty to do 
attending on those who are really ill, and those 
who are not, but say they are. If a lazy fit 
seize you in the morning, and you want to escape 
from school, there is only one chance, and that is 
to send word to your tutor that you are not well, 
and ask leave to stay out. It is extraordinary 
the sudden way in which a boy could be ill at 
half-past six, and quite well and jolly again by 
breakfast-time. One of the tutors had a capital 
plan of dealing with such invalids. “ Stay out 
by all means,” he would say ; but he would ac¬ 
company his permission with a strong dose of 
some kind or another, and, besides that, keep 
them indoors for three or four days, which indi¬ 
viduals of an active temperament would not be 
i 2 


lie 


Harrow Recollections. 


likely to care about. Generally speaking, I should 
think Harrow is one of the healthiest places in 
the kingdom, which of course is principally owing 
to the elevation on which it is placed. The school 
has been particularly fortunate in escaping epi¬ 
demics, and, with the exception of a visitation 
of scarlet fever some time since, I do not remem¬ 
ber hearing of any serious illness among the 
boys. As at all other schools, so at Harrow, 
there are three or four disreputable individuals 
who hang about the place and make themselves 
agreeable to a few by getting them brandy, and 
other forbidden things, for which they sponge 
freely on their customers. One of them that I 
remember was chiefly remarkable for his perti¬ 
nacity in drinking, and was scarcely ever seen 
sober; in fact, one Harrow and Eton match day, 
at Lord's, he was in such a blind state of intoxi¬ 
cation that he was obliged to be taken off the 
ground. I am glad to say that I do not think 
that either these gentry or their wares were much 
patronized, and those who did make use of them 
belonged to a class of which I have previously 
spoken. They were put out of bounds: that is 
to say, any of the boys speaking to them would 
receive a very severe punishment; and there 
were few who cared to run this risk for the paltry 
satisfaction of getting a small quantity of fiery 
brandy, or an ounce of indifferent tobacco. 


( H7 ) 


CHAPTER IX. 

LAST WOKDS. 

I am drawing near to tlie end now, and begin 
already to feel tbe regret that always accompanies 
a farewell to pleasant society. Looking back 
through the few pages wherein I have sought to 
give a faithful record of an ordinary existence at 
Harrow, a fear arises in my mind that there is 
very little in them of what can be called amusing. 
They, after all, but contain certain dry details. 
Still there is some satisfaction in feeling that I 
have not resorted to that extending of the long 
bow, which, nowadays, is considered impera¬ 
tively essential to writing anything in a light 
strain. I am content to abide by the decision of 
my readers, and with this much of assurance to 
them that, at least, they may believe what I have 
said, and an appeal to their indulgence for all 
literary shortcomings, I now approach that im¬ 
portant and highly popular period, going home 
for the holidays, when—what with the excite¬ 
ment of the examination, and the packing of 
trunks and portmanteaus — everything is in a 
glorious state of confusion and bustle. Ten days 


118 


Harrow Recollections. 


before breaking-up, “ trials,” that being the 
term applied to the examinations—commence, 
and, no doubt, to a very large number, they are 
a source of much fear and anxiety. They are 
almost entirely conducted by means of printed 
papers, the matter of which is confined to the 
books and authors read by the different forms 
during the past quarter; so that if a boy has 
paid ordinary attention to his work, he may 
easily prepare himself for the ordeal he has to 
undergo. From the Remove downwards, it is 
customary for the masters of the various forms 
to announce the number of marks, and the order 
of merit, every week. For the remainder of the 
school, if I remember aright, this is done less 
frequently; but, for one and all, these marks are 
added up at the end of the quarter, and are 
taken into consideration in conjunction with 
those obtained in the examination. Classics, 
mathematics, and foreign languages are treated 
separately in trials; and a certain amount of 
proficiency must be obtained in each, or your 
place will be a low one. For . instance, a boy 
may be first in classics and third in French, and 
if his quarter's work be good, he would probably 
take the first place; but his mathematics have 
to be thought of, and if he makes a mess of 
them, he will find himself ousted from the posi¬ 
tion to which his Latin and Greek of themselves 


Last Words. 


119 


would have entitled him. There was one ex¬ 
amination paper which always created a panic in 
contemplation of its probable difficulties. It 
was popularly known as “ Skew-paper,” which 
being freely interpreted, means, that as it con¬ 
sisted of passages of Latin and Greek to trans¬ 
late that we were supposed not to have seen 
before, and a piece of English to turn vice versd } 
it was more than likely that a good many would 
be sorely puzzled and find great difficulty in 
doing it properly. One entire form, on a certain 
occasion, was so terribly at sea that only two 
boys out of it got any marks at all; all the rest 
having done theirs so badly that their papers 
were torn up. The examination lasts the week, 
and then all trials and troubles are over, and 
•nothing remains to be done but to await patiently 
the announcement of the results in the various 
forms. The masters have a weary time of it at 
this period, and must have to work very hard to 
look over all the papers of their forms. The 
system of prize-giving at Harrow is somewhat 
peculiar. If a boy has done well during the 
quarter and in examination, the master of his form 
recommends him for a “ Copy,” which is a book 
bought and paid for by papa. When three 
“ copies ” have been obtained, due notice is given 
to the Head Master, who thereupon presents the 
fortunate possessor with a prize of more or less 


120 


Harrow Recollections. 


magnificence, according to his position in the 
school. The ceremony takes place in Speech- 
room., in the presence of all the boys, the names 
of the successful ones being duly called out in 
order. Dr. Vaughan also used to give a prize to 
every boy who learnt fifteen hundred lines of 
poetry by heart, which of course he had to do in 
his leisure time, and say them to his tutor out of 
school hours; and, therefore, but few attempted 
it. But it was capital exercise for the memory, 
and those who had the courage to undertake it 
will never repent having done so. 

It was always the custom, when the examina¬ 
tion list was read out by the Head Master, for 
him to commence with the lowest form at the 
lowest name; so that the boy who actually stood 
at the bottom of the school had his fate announced 
to him first, much to the general amusement and 
his own confusion. There was always a good deal 
of excitement on the occasion, which became the 
more intense as the top was gradually approached 
without your name having been mentioned. Such 
emotion may well be pardoned, in fact I rather 
pity him who could not feel it. Some boys are very 
fond of pretending to be particulary indifferent 
about their work; they never read at all, so they 
would make you believe, and endeavour to lead 
you to fancy they learn everything by inspiration. 
But depend upon it, if you could only overlook 


Last Words. 


121 


them, you would find them working away as hard 
as anybody, and troubling themselves every bit 
as much about their success as any other of their 
fellows. I do not mean to say that there are not 
lads who learn with much greater facility than 
others, and who are able, therefore, to get over 
their work in a considerably shorter time; but 
you will never find such as them make a boast 
that they are facile princess without any exertion 
or reading at all. A very clever boy knows per¬ 
fectly well that nothing can be done without a 
certain amount of study, and though he may 
object to taking up his time with routine and 
detail, he is far too wise to run the risk of failure 
by neglecting either the one or the other, as it 
is in these very respects a trap will be laid to 
catch him. 

We have now arrived at the last night of the 
Michaelmas quarter, and to-morrow morning the 
school will have dispersed for the Christmas 
holidays. As I write these lines, the recollection 
comes full and strong upon me of the night when, 
with a deep feeling of regret, I realized within 
myself the fact that my Harrow days were over. 
What happy times now to be summed up and 
closed for ever! One stage in life's journey 
reached, would there ever come another whoso 
passages would be so bright ? It is no false sen¬ 
timentalism for men to speak with affectionate 


122 


Harrow Recollections. 


warmth and enthusiastic praise of their school¬ 
days. It is no mere form of speech to say that 
they are the pleasantest of existence. Taken 
and weighed with those times that come after 
them, and measured in equitable scales, who 
can say that these two periods of life bear com¬ 
parison ? True, the existence at a public school 
is but the mimicry of what will come by-and-by. 
Certain it is that it has its trials, anxieties, and 
drawbacks, which are but foreshadowings of 
what manhood will have to endure, and teaches 
the boy many other things than how to translate 
Cicero, or solve a problem of Euclid. But its 
misfortunes are never of a very serious descrip¬ 
tion, and its griefs relate to very trivial matters. 
The boy who is just about leaving school begins 
to appreciate them. Nor can he fail to be deeply 
moved and affected as he feels that in a few 
hours he will have passed from the schoolboy 
into the man. There will rise in his mind the 
words from the last Sunday's sermon, much of 
which is always devoted to addressing those who 
are about to leave for good and all, that told 
him what he had accomplished, and what still 
remained for him to do ; how the life in which it 
had seemed to him difficult enough to keep 
straightforward and honourable was mere child's 
play after all; and that the temptations he had 
had so to struggle to avoid would pale before 


Last Words, 


123 


the inducements to evil that await him who 
launches into the liberty and freedom of action 
of early manhood. As I sat in my room alone 
on this last night, I must confess to have felt 
deeply and almost with sorrow that to-morrow 
would end my school-days. There were ringing 
in my ears the preacher's words, “ Be good men, 
be honourable men, above all, be gentlemen ; " 
and as I realized their meaning, I knew that 
play was at an end, and that stern reality was 
about to begin. Softly, and in melancholy ca¬ 
dence, there came, as if floating in the air, the 
strain of the holiday hymn we always sang in 
chapel on the last Sunday. With what pleasure 
had it ever filled me, wdien hearing it, till this 
moment; and now it seemed so sad and full of 
melancholy, like the funeral dirge of buried 
boyhood. 

Pshaw ! what am I about, talking in this poetic 
and romantic strain ? I am getting as senti¬ 
mental as a miss at a boarding-school. This is 
no time for dumps and melancholy just the 
beginning of the Christmas holidays, at which 
season everybody ought to be jolly except people 
who are in debt. Sam has got all our luggage 
in charge, prayers are over, and nothing remains 
but to jump into a fly and bustle down to the 
station, where a special train is in waiting to 
take us all oif to London for our six weeks' vaca- 


124 


narrow Recollections. 


tion. Good-bye, old school, good-bye! there’s 
something got into my eyes and made them 
water, and, confound it, there’s something in my 
throat, too, that makes me feel as if I was 
choking. That’s a horrid word, good bye is, to 
say. I do not think I will attempt it a second 
time. 


THE END. 


LS It 


WYMAN AND SONS, PRINTERS, GREAT QUEEN STREET, LONDON, W.C. 












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